Ever since my first day teaching, my students have said some pretty unpredictable, strange or just downright hilarious things. In class you learn to expected the unexpected, and I’ve found that a either snappy reaction to turn a comment on its head or good acting skills are my best friends in the classroom when put in a situation that leaves the classroom precariously on the edge of disorder. Funny, awkward or otherwise, these moments in class never cease to make me remember why I adore working with each and every one of my students (although sometimes the situation is not funny until afterwards) and having the chance to get to know them and their vibrant personalities.
To give you an idea of real life in the classroom (and hopefully a laugh or two) I’d like to share these snippets of conversation with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
Today is two for one day at “Real Quotes by Real Students.”
My first day in the 7th grade class I work with on Mondays, the class of 28 students literally asked me questions for 45 minutes. A major contributor to this lengthy session was a talkative young man named “Fabian”. He fired off these two gems among his many queries:
“Are there some gangsters in your town?” I was not expecting this, but I guess that if you watch movies that come out of Hollywood, and you’ve never been to the U.S., this is a valid question. And well, there are some gangsters some places in the country. :)
This was followed by:
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
Teacher: “Oh, you have an admirer.”
F: “No, she’s much too old for me!”
Well, glad that we’re clear about that. Apparently, I’ve entered the realm of “teacher old.”
Deine,
N*
The adventures of an English teaching assistant working and living in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Real Quotes by Real Students – Comic
Ever since my first day teaching, my students have said some pretty unpredictable, strange or just downright hilarious things. In class you learn to expected the unexpected, and I’ve found that a either snappy reaction to turn a comment on its head or good acting skills are my best friends in the classroom when put in a situation that leaves the classroom precariously on the edge of disorder. Funny, awkward or otherwise, these moments in class never cease to make me remember why I adore working with each and every one of my students (although sometimes the situation is not funny until afterwards) and having the chance to get to know them and their vibrant personalities.
To give you an idea of real life in the classroom (and hopefully a laugh or two) I’d like to share these snippets of conversation with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
Do you remember "Frank-Frederick", one of my 9th graders? He’s just one of those people who can always make you laugh. He is funny and he knows it, but it’s a natural kind of funny. Well, his short story on Australia was no exception to this. The whole story was well-written and full of humor, but to this day, this particular excerpt gives me a reason to smile:
“No panic on the Titanic! The tank is full and I have some reserves.”
Apparently people use the phrase, “Keine panisch auf der Titanisch” in German, but it was new certainly new to me. I appreciate moments like these after I've been grading for hours.
Deine,
N*
To give you an idea of real life in the classroom (and hopefully a laugh or two) I’d like to share these snippets of conversation with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
Do you remember "Frank-Frederick", one of my 9th graders? He’s just one of those people who can always make you laugh. He is funny and he knows it, but it’s a natural kind of funny. Well, his short story on Australia was no exception to this. The whole story was well-written and full of humor, but to this day, this particular excerpt gives me a reason to smile:
“No panic on the Titanic! The tank is full and I have some reserves.”
Apparently people use the phrase, “Keine panisch auf der Titanisch” in German, but it was new certainly new to me. I appreciate moments like these after I've been grading for hours.
Deine,
N*
Monday, April 25, 2011
Russian in Germany
19. März 2011
 |
| Check it out! |
I anticipated that my learning curve might be steeper than with previous languages I’ve learned because first I
had to learn to read and write Cyrillic (and of course, cursive and print are fairly different, just to make it more confusing), so I’ll just keep trying. If nothing else, I can speak (very) simply and I learned to read and write, which is an accomplishment in itself! Also, I find myself being able to pick the limited words I know out of conversations in Slavic languages while I’m traveling…cool!
What I really want to talk about here, though, are the relationships that I’ve gained in my attempted to learn Russian in Germany.
First, there’s my Russian teacher, Frau Doktor T (Don’t you love the German titles?). She has so much passion for the Russian language, and I actually thought she was Russian for a while. It turns out her Mom did a Russian radio show during DDR times, so she grew up with the language. She’s been really helpful in the learning process and is now a friend in the teacher room. There are around 100 teachers at my school, and I really only have a relationship with a few because people are in and out so much, so making a new friend was definitely positive. Plus, she’s really full of life and fascinating to talk to. We speak German together, and she tries out the English phrases she knows sometimes, too.
I’ve also gotten to know “der kleine Kostya,” the GT student learning Russian. I actually knew him from my time at T’s (my former host mom) school during my previous visits to Germany, so it’s funny we’ve been brought together again. He’s very shy, but lately we walk together to the train station after Russian lessons, as he goes that way to walk home. He talks and I talk – mostly in German – and it’s interesting to hear what he has to say. Sometimes you can tell that there’s so much going on in his head at once that he can’t express it all quickly enough. You can almost see wheels spinning and gears whirring – adorable. His Mom has even said that he can’t read before bed because he starts thinking about so many things that it’s impossible for him to sleep afterwards.
Perhaps some of my favorite people are my Russian-English speaking partners, Lara and Ben. They’re 9th graders, but in the U.S. you’d never believe it because they’re so smart and mature. Lara always comes to our sessions armed with a notebook to write down any words we talk about that she doesn’t know. Smart really since she and Ben are two of the 16 students from our school who will participate in the month-long exchange program in Texas this fall. Since I know them primarily from outside the classroom setting (Lara is also in the dance group I teach in at school), I’ve really gotten to know them on a much more personal level, and I think we’ve all been able to benefit from the exchange. They’ve taught me about a myriad of things in Germany from Bleigießen (lead figures that are melted over a candle on a spoon and then dropped into cold water before their shape is “read” to show what is the come in the new year) to how to tell someone their zipper is unzipped in German (valuable information, I tell you…if someone tells me that, I need to know!) to everything under the sun about the German school system to when you should (and shouldn’t) ring your bike bell. Not to mention that they’ve helped me feel truly integrated in both the school and the culture. I only hope that I’ve been able to share as much of my culture with them as they have their culture with me.
 |
| Making guac |
One night they came over and we made burritos and guacamole. They’d never had guacamole before (gasp!), and we had a lot of fun mashing the avocados. In true Chipotle fashion, I helped them learn how to roll a burrito and they really managed it quite well. I was pretty sure that they enjoyed their first foray into the realm of Mexican food, and sure enough a couple of weeks later, they told me that they made burritos with their families one weekend. That really made my day.
Who would’ve thought that such fantastic relationships would come out of learning Russian in Germany? My life here is full of wonderful people, and I am so thankful for their warmness and acceptance.
 |
| Rolling like a pro...note the pinky! |
Deine,
N*
 |
| Beautiful flowers they brought me |
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Real Quotes by Real Students – Spot On
Ever since my first day teaching, my students have said some pretty unpredictable, strange or just downright hilarious things. In class you learn to expected the unexpected, and I’ve found that a either snappy reaction to turn a comment on its head or good acting skills are my best friends in the classroom when put in a situation that leaves the classroom precariously on the edge of disorder. Funny, awkward or otherwise, these moments in class never cease to make me remember why I adore working with each and every one of my students (although sometimes the situation is not funny until afterwards) and having the chance to get to know them and their vibrant personalities.
To give you an idea of real life in the classroom (and hopefully a laugh or two) I’d like to share these snippets of conversation with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
I was not privy to this conversation, which actually took place in German, but H told me about it later. It took place during in the 5th grade class, while H was spending a month observing the student teacher and I was just observing, rather than assisting for that time. There were often a lot of problems during the class; needless to say, it was not my favorite time of day. Apparently this was more obvious (at least to my seatmate – a highly perceptive…and sometimes disruptive…young man) than I thought.
“Richard”: Mrs. H, I think N* likes me.
H: What makes you think that?
R: Well, sometimes she smiles at me, but she doesn’t smile at Mrs. Student Teacher.”
Zing. In my defense, let me just say that none of the other teachers smile at “Mrs. Student Teacher” while she’s teaching either.
Deine,
N*
To give you an idea of real life in the classroom (and hopefully a laugh or two) I’d like to share these snippets of conversation with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
I was not privy to this conversation, which actually took place in German, but H told me about it later. It took place during in the 5th grade class, while H was spending a month observing the student teacher and I was just observing, rather than assisting for that time. There were often a lot of problems during the class; needless to say, it was not my favorite time of day. Apparently this was more obvious (at least to my seatmate – a highly perceptive…and sometimes disruptive…young man) than I thought.
“Richard”: Mrs. H, I think N* likes me.
H: What makes you think that?
R: Well, sometimes she smiles at me, but she doesn’t smile at Mrs. Student Teacher.”
Zing. In my defense, let me just say that none of the other teachers smile at “Mrs. Student Teacher” while she’s teaching either.
Deine,
N*
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Real Quotes by Real Students – Confessional
Ever since my first day teaching, my students have said some pretty unpredictable, strange or just downright hilarious things. In class you learn to expected the unexpected, and I’ve found that a either snappy reaction to turn a comment on its head or good acting skills are my best friends in the classroom when put in a situation that leaves the classroom precariously on the edge of disorder. Funny, awkward or otherwise, these moments in class never cease to make me remember why I adore working with each and every one of my students (although sometimes the situation is not funny until afterwards) and having the chance to get to know them and their vibrant personalities.
To give you an idea of real life in the classroom (and hopefully a laugh or two) I’d like to share these snippets of conversation with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
In the 8th grade, the students were practicing expressing something that they did not think would happen but had indeed happened.
“Chen” raises his hand, and when called upon asks, “Does it have to be true?”
His teacher has known him since 5th grade, so she responds jokingly that they all “know he’s a liar anyways” and to “go ahead.”
“Chen” says, “I was not expecting it, but I think I’m gay.”
Gales of laughter shake the classroom. “Chen” looks pleased. Way 458 to disrupt class: falsely confess to being gay.
Deine,
N*
To give you an idea of real life in the classroom (and hopefully a laugh or two) I’d like to share these snippets of conversation with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
In the 8th grade, the students were practicing expressing something that they did not think would happen but had indeed happened.
“Chen” raises his hand, and when called upon asks, “Does it have to be true?”
His teacher has known him since 5th grade, so she responds jokingly that they all “know he’s a liar anyways” and to “go ahead.”
“Chen” says, “I was not expecting it, but I think I’m gay.”
Gales of laughter shake the classroom. “Chen” looks pleased. Way 458 to disrupt class: falsely confess to being gay.
Deine,
N*
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Always Check the Parking Space
19. März 2011
“Did you check the parking space?” my sister screams almost frenetically as we leave every location on family trips. Someone always answers that of course they have, even if they haven’t and then looks guiltily back to make sure karma doesn’t have her way with them for it. This frenzy of my sister’s stems back to our family’s first camping trip when she was four and I was nine. On such trips, our family station wagon is always packed so full that just opening a door leaves you in danger of having something tumble out. In that case, an Eeyore baseball cap belonging to my sister was the offending item. We replaced it later, but even 13 years afterwards, she’s never forgotten the incident. So that’s the rule: No matter what, you check the parking space.Perhaps you are wondering what exactly this has to do with Germany. Well, now comes the part of the story where N* is stupid…very stupid…twice. Towards the end of our stay in Dresden, Michelle’s wisdom teeth started acting up. Badly. Now as I am prone to losing things, being careless and generally “not thinking” about all things common sense related, I can by no means say that what happened next was a result of that situation, but I can guess that having worry as a distraction did not play in my favor. Something had to give. And so I broke the rule: I did not pass go, I did not collect $200, and I definitely did not check the “parking space”.
About 30 minutes after leaving the train station, I noticed that I did not have my gift bag – a cause for great concern, since all my purchases from the trip were in it. I had already felt a little guilty, worrying that I had spent too much, so of course my first thought was that this was karma “getting me”. My second thought was accompanied by an empty ache because aside from at the Christmas markets, I haven’t really bought myself much in Germany, and the items I purchased in Dresden were effectively irreplaceable. My third thought was, “Please God, don’t let anything happen to my camera.” (If you missed that story, you can catch up on it here).
By some stroke of luck, the conductor had seen my poor abandoned bag all lonely and yellow on the platform, and it was still there when someone came up to fetch it. She gave me a number to call, and I managed to arrange to have my belongings sent back to me. For the nominal fee of (drum roll please…) €20, of course. Way to add insult to injury, but at least I received everything back intact yesterday. So please don’t pull an N* and leave things on train platforms, but of you should…ASK! The Deutsche Bahn just might have put its exacting efficiency into play and rescued your abandoned belongings.
Now this really should have been enough, but apparently it was just that kind of day. On our way to Berlin, we spent a couple of hours in Roßlau so I could grab some groceries since everything would be closed on Sunday when I cam back. While I was shopping, I was also on the phone with my Mom, talking about what was going on with Michelle. As we have just seen, distractions and I do not mix. As far as I can figure out, I must have forgotten to take my German debit card back out of the reader, or I accidentally dropped it on my way back. Either way, I didn’t need it in Berlin, so I didn’t notice it was gone until I was trying to buy my train ticket back to Roßlau.
Of course by the time I managed to change the €50 bill I luckily had with me into smaller bills, I had missed the only direct train to Roßlau for two hours and had to take one via Wittenberg, thus undergoing a three-hour trip while worrying about identity theft, rather than an hour and a half one. I was able to call the bank hotline and lock my card, and on Monday I called the bank and ordered a new one (there goes another €10). Like my package, I also received that yesterday.
While the whole situation was incredibly frustrating and stressful, at least my debit card was protected by a pin number and I didn’t lose any money, and I did get everything back, even if I had to pay (literally) for my carelessness. So as I continue on my travels, I will try to return to the decent track record I had held of not losing things in Germany up until last weekend, and I will always, ALWAYS check the parking space.
Deine,
N*
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Real Quotes by Real Students – She’s a Man!
12. April 2011
To give you an idea of real life in the classroom (and hopefully a laugh or two) I’d like to share these snippets of conversation with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
Maybe you remember this from long, long ago, but on my first day, in my second class ever, this situation transpired:
In the 9th class we were working on the construction “used to” today. Each of the students was to write five sentences. The standout sentence was by a boy in the front row, we’ll call him "Max", who wants to be cool. He contrived to achieve this reputation with the following remark:
“When he was young, "Phillip" used to be a girl.”
The amazing thing, is that "Phillip" thought this was funny. This was a true test of my teacher poker face.
Deine,
N*
Monday, April 11, 2011
Florence on the Elbe
13. März 2011
After days on the go, it’s hard to be poetic, so a descriptive list of suggested sites and restaurants will have to do for now.
 |
| Der Zwinger back view |
 |
| Die Frauenkirche |
 |
| View from Frauenkirche Dom |
3. The Albertinum – This art museum was an excellent choice for Michelle and I because I hadn’t been there before and this is exactly the kind of art (late 1800s, 1900s and contemporary) that she enjoys the most. The top floor had German Realism, German and French Impressionism (including a fantastic Degas pastel piece and a famous Gauguin depicting two Tahitian women, which used to grace the wall of my dorm room). The middle floor was mix of stimulating Contemporary Art and storage display cases full to the seams with statues. The exhibits were set up as a ring, so starting and ending with sculpture was an interesting, but oddly satisfying bookend to the Contemporary section. On the ground floor was the Sculpture Hall. One of the Degas “Little Dancer” sculptures was there too – fantastic!
 |
| Der Semperoper |
5. The Semperoper – The opera house is well worth the visit. Especially if you can get 10€ student tickets for the ninth row 30 minutes before the show! We went to see the Magic Flute (an opera that is actually in German and whose libretto I’ve studied intensively). Honestly, I wasn’t such a fan of the modern adaptation of the show, but the singing and orchestra themselves were unbelievable beyond words! We couldn’t believe we were sitting amongst ladies in elegant dresses and well-suited gentlemen in an ornate opera house with four stories of wall-ringing tiered seats extending far above the main floor to the Rococoesque ceiling. Sadly I made the mistake of bringing only jeans on the trip and I also wore my hiking boots that day. Thankfully, as at other German theatre events I’ve attended, people dress up only as much or as little as they feel like, so I really wasn’t too out of place.
 |
| Traditional "Blue Onion" Pattern |
6. Meißen Porcelain Factory – We spent our third day on the trip in Meißen, a small but quaint town to the Northwest of Dresen. As the first ones to arrive at the porcelain factory, we got a private tour! There were four (live!) demonstration stations showing how porcelain is made, shaped and created, along with an audio explanation. I couldn’t believe how quickly the artists worked on the wheel or created parts, like individual flowers, out of thin air. I’d love to be skilled enough to do that kind of work. The museum of all the old porcelain patterns (all of which are still produced or still can be ordered today!) was interesting and full of beautiful artworks – utile and decorative – from the whole history of the production of porcelain. Meißen was the first location in Europe where someone figured out how to make white porcelain, which up until that point had only been available as an import from the Far East. It was fascinating how deeply the tradition rooted itself there and remains important today. I bought a small piece in the traditional blue onion pattern – handmade and hand painted in the factory. Can you believe it?
 |
| Eine Mietzekatze! |
7. The rest of Meißen – We took a walk into downtown Meißen, where the friendly lady in the tourist office gave us suggestions on where to go. The Frauenkirche there has a set of porcelain bells (everything here is centered around porcelain, even today), which we were lucky enough to visit at the right time to hear. I really should start taking my voice recorder with my when I travel! Then we climbed up the stairs which wrapped along the side of the hill. At the top we visited the church as well as the castle where the porcelain was originally produced. The inside was lavishly painted; I can’t imagine actually living somewhere like that!
 |
| "Spicy Cauliflower Curry" |
Those are the main sightseeing attractions I can recommend, so now let’s talk about food! It’s pretty exciting
to visit a new city and actually have recommendations to give. One day we ate lunch at “Cafe áha” – a little place over a Free Trade Shop (also worth a visit, but don’t be surprised if your wallet ends up significantly lighter afterwards) that offers many organic and vegetarian options. The food was excellent. I had “Spicy Cauliflower Curry”. You could also order half-portions. I did. We visited “Leonardo” for dinner. They are a bit more off the beaten path in a restaurant area often frequented by locals. They feature a small fixed menu, but most of the main dishes change daily and can be read from a chalkboard. Michelle and I shared a “Topf” (best translation: foods baked together in a cast-iron pan in the oven…could be casserole-ish) of scalloped potatoes with tomatoes, mushrooms and basil and then splurged and each got apple strudel with ice cream for dessert. Yum. The other two nights we went to a fantastic little Italian place in the square where the Frauenkirche is. I ate there with my former German host Mom, so I already knew it would be good. I can definitely recommend the “Spinach and Gorgonzola Pizza”, but I’m pretty sure you can’t really go wrong there. We definitely enjoyed a variety of good food available in Dresden for a decent price!
 |
| Meißner Fummel |
 |
| Through really old glass... |
Overall I highly recommend Dresden as a short trip destination. It certainly lives up to the name it was christened with in its heyday – “Florence on the Elbe”. The city itself is beautiful, there’s lots to do, many places are easily walkable (we ended up walked about 26 miles in the day we were there…not because we had to, but because we like to walk…a lot) and if that’s not so your thing, the public transportation appeared well-connected, and overall the city seemed very safe. And of course, I was lucky enough to have the BEST travel buddy!
Deine,
N*
Sunday, April 10, 2011
A Series of Random Topics
13. März 2011
 |
| Berliner Dom and blue skies...finally! |
Mondays and Tuesdays are always crazy to begin with, and the teachers I worked with all wanted to integrate Michelle into class work and take advantage of having another native speaker around. Even I didn’t quite anticipate how much they’d want to integrate her, and I think it was a bit overwhelming at times (sorry, Michelle!). She stepped up with ferocity, though, for topics ranging from a debate about whether gun control would lower violence in schools, to the American West, to life in small-town America, to life in the South, to small talk and teenage pregnancy. It was enough for me without the jetlag, and Michelle and I were seriously exhausted. I hope that she enjoyed experiencing the Gymnasium, even if it was hectic and stressful at times.
 |
| Salsa demo |
Then we worked with the 6th grade dance group on the basic salsa steps through a follow-along warm-up, reviewed the Samba line dance I’d taught them the week before and then learned some new dance steps to help them with their “Salsa personalities”. It was so good to have a chance to work with them separately from the older students because they really blossomed. Usually some of the 8th graders come at that time too, so it’s really difficult to keep a balance between the levels.
The last group included the more advanced students, ranging from 6th to 11th grade. Surprisingly they all meshed together really well. The girls seemed to enjoy the salsa, and I was also glad to see a few of my English students from 9th and 11th grade join us for the day. Since most of them are already dancers, counting was not a problem, and I couldn’t believe how quickly they picked up the steps and the Spanish names for them. An hour and a half later they could dance a full song of “Micaela” and do about six steps. Wow! Half of them had to be guys, but because there were not actual guys in attendance, it wasn’t so much of a problem. They also requested to dance the Samba line dance I taught them last week again.
I could see they were having fun, and Michelle and I certainly were! It made me so proud to see how versatile they were as dancers and how willing to take on the challenge of dancing in English and Spanish they were. I’m fantastically proud and thrilled to be lucky enough to continue working in a dance group like that!
Deine,
N*
Saturday, April 9, 2011
In Which I Experience a Small Flood
11. März 2011
When I wrote about my students a while back, I mentioned Lena, one of my 9th graders. Since I’ve met her, she has continued writing e-mails to me, working hard in English and generally being interested in the U.S. She’s actually going to be able to go to the U.S. with our school’s month-long exchange program to Texas in the fall. She was a bit unsure about going at first, but when a spot opened up, she really took the initiative, so I’m incredibly proud of her.
One day we ended up talking about food, and she told me about “Grießbrei”, which they often eat for dessert in her family. Of course with my dessert project in full swing, I wanted to know how to make it. Well, Lena went home, asked her Mom about the recipe and sent me an e-mail with instructions, but then suggested we make it together sometime. And that’s how I ended up inviting her over to cook it and watch a movie with me.
Of course, the day before this, I became obsessed with the idea of Eierschecke – a three-layer cake typically found in Saxony, and especially in the city of Dresden, and decided to give it a go. However, round one was not to be because the yeast dough recipe I had ended up being faulty; I tried it twice with horrendous, rock-like results. After further research, I decided to try out a more cake-like bottom layer the next day. This was more successful, but ended up seeming a bit like my snicker doodle cookie dough, but I went ahead and greased the pan anyways. The dough looked like it might not stretch enough to fill the whole baking dish, so I decided to use only part of it and proceeded to fashion a wall out of tin foil. Don’t ask. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
 |
| Quark filling...and the wall! |
About an hour and a half before Lena was set to arrive, I was busy mixing the thick, quark filling. Quark is sort of like a mix between yogurt and cream cheese, so this filling could be compared in a way with American cheesecake. The result when it is cooked is a bit more fluid and slightly stickier, yet it somehow retains a fairly firm taste and texture. Finally I began composing the custard top, complete with separating egg yolks and egg whites. Whipping the egg whites was certainly an adventure, as I didn’t anticipate just how much they’d expand and it was necessary to transfer them to a larger bowl partway through. All in all, I felt proud of my egg-related efforts for the afternoon.Just as I finished cooling the custard made from the egg yolks and whipping the egg whites, Lena called me. Through some miscommunication (on my part) about directions (because somehow I apparently still can’t adequately describe where I live), her Dad had brought her to the wrong house, but eventually she arrived with a box of chocolates, the Grieß and a glass jar of cherries we would later heat for the topping. I warned her about the highly experimental nature of my cake, and went about mixing the top layer. As I was pouring the egg custard over the top, I could see that there wasn’t really room for it. Just as I was sincerely regretting not rolling the bottom layer out to cover the entire pan, a flood of egg custard broke the aluminum dam and flowed as though molten across the open third of the pan.
 |
| The Grießbrei |
In the meantime, Lena and I started in on making the Grießbrei. She told me that her Mom makes it so often that she doesn’t even have to measure the Grieß, which looked a bit like sand, anymore. While we put the cherries on to heat, we guesstimated the proper amount and cooked it. The result can best be compared to Southern grits, I think, but we’d put in a bit too much Grieß, so our version turned into large cakes of grainy stuff, much like polenta, as it cooled. It was still tasty, though.
 |
| Finished in the oven! |
By then the cake was done, and by some miracle, none of it was burnt, despite the lack of uniformity in the composition. While waiting for the cake to cool, Lena and I watched The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in English – a movie based on one of my most-read series of books and which also had a good level of English for Lena. I think she enjoyed it, and afterwards we also enjoyed the cake, which turned out to be perfectly moist and delectable, even if the aesthetic was a little unusual. I had to transfer part of the top layer so it was allocated properly across the cake.
 |
| Masterpiece |
Bis bald!
Deine,
N*
P.S. If you'd like to try out the Eierschecke recipe...I used this one for the dough and this one for the top two layers, minus the lemon zest and raisins. The only problem might be getting quark in the U.S., but I've been told that some World Markets actually carry it.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Whirlwind
2. März 2011
In February, Erin and I traveled to Lisbon over our Winter Break. The trip really started in Greece, though. Well, at least the idea did. We thought we’d go somewhere warm for our February winter break, but it turns it turns out that winter in Greece actually is winter and not the mild temperatures we were seeking. Plus many places are closed in the off-season. With some German directions, we settled on “Lissabon” without actually knowing a lot about it. The trip was simultaneously one of the most thrilling, albeit it one of the must frustrating culturally I have yet to encounter.
 |
| Gateway by dusk |
Neither Erin nor I spoke a word of Portuguese prior to the trip, although I can understand a substantial amount of the written language. Portuguese is the ultimate language mash-up, so my varied amounts of background knowledge in Italian, French and Spanish served me well for reading. The problem is that the spoken word often sounds much different than you’d think because, as I was told, all of Portugal’s many colonial holdings during the empire have shaped the vocabulary and pronunciation of the language, so really speaking any Portuguese in a way that wasn’t completely degrading the language or my pride was a lost cause. We settled for being able to say “thank you” – “obrigado(a).” If you can only say one word in a language, I think that’s a pretty good choice.
 |
| “Pastéis de Nata” |
Trying to find decent meals was difficult with a vegetarian in tow, so from that standpoint, our experience with authentic food was not fantastic, although the pizzeria next to our hotel had an unbelievable spinach and mushroom pizza. The pastries were out of this world, though. Lisbon is filled with little cafés where locals go in the late afternoon to enjoy coffee and pastries, often while standing right at the counter. We tried square-shaped doughnuts, flaky spiral breads and something made from quince among others, but perhaps the most sensational were the “Pastéis de Nata” which we abstained from getting until the last day, so we could eat them at their place of origin, the “Pastéis de Belém”. There you can enjoy these custard-filled tarts, still hot from the oven, outside with a view of the water. The day was warm at about 60° Fahrenheit, and we basked coatless, thus securing our image as tourists, while the creamy custard and crusty crunch of the tart cups was a perfect compliment to the weather.
 |
| Typical mosaic ground |
That day wrapped up a whirlwind of sightseeing encompassing the main sights of the mosaic-sidewalked city, as well as a day trip to the cities of Sintra and Cascais, with a stop at the Cabo da Roca – the westernmost point in Europe. The countryside was a veritable jungle of verdant trees, bushes and flowers, which was juxtaposed with the indescribable turquoise depths changing to roiling white breakers which graced the still-green coastline. In Cascais I narrowly escaped a sneaker wave as it rushed in suddenly to engulf my legs to the knees, above which rested the blissfully dry inside-out edges of the jeans I had so fashionable folded up over themselves to the thigh mere seconds before. It was a lucky break indeed to be wading in the Atlantic in February with relative comfort.
 |
| Jerónimos Monastery |
The mild temperatures allowed us to roam the ruins of a Moorish castle in Sintra and the Castello de San Jorge in Lisbon itself. Both were full of giant stairs, parapets paralleling those I had only read about in books as a child, and picturesque panoramas. The latter was also filled with cats and peacocks. The National Palace in Sintra was a lavish meshing of colorful patterned tiles, paintings and regal-looking furniture, complete with the most enormous kitchen I’ve ever seen in my life. Each gigantic pot had room underneath it for a decent-sized blaze, and one of the ovens was like a giant closet! The architectural feats in Lisbon are bolder and more varied than I’ve ever seen, in main part due to the fact that the city is so old that something from nearly every time period and from many cultures – Moors, Romans, Visigoths, etc. (we saw a real aquaduct!) can be found. The famous Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery are actually quite young in comparison with many sites, but they are no less spectacular; both are feats of grandeur with ornate stone decorations that we can only dream about in the U.S.
 |
| Typical mosaic tiling |
 |
| Belém Tower |
 |
| Cathedral Memorial |
A 3 hour turned 5 hour tour with our guide and just one other Italian man allowed us more glimpses of the city’s spectacular diversity. In 1755 an earthquake destroyed most of the city and along with its resulting tsunami caused the deaths of a large percentage of the population. The city regenerated quickly with the first earthquake-proof housing, leaving the towering, crooked vertebrae of a ruined church as a remembrance, and allowinga new, modern layer of the city to be born. Most buildings were ravaged, but the parts of the city build on bedrock such as the Alfama Quarter remained virtually untouched. Walking here was like entering a completely different world where laundry is left unattended and no one locks their doors. It only takes ten minutes to reach the city center on foot, but somehow this world of quaint houses, public baths and Fado restaurants has maintained a spirit of its own.
 |
| View into Alfama |
I was fascinated to learn how people from all economic backgrounds coexisted in Alfama. Life there seems to be about LIVING. This tolerance for differences carries out into the city’s easy multiculturalism as well. I had noticed how culturally diverse the city was, but I was surprised to hear how, unlike other diverse cities, there was no “Chinatown” or “Little Italy” there. Our tour guide, an immigrant himself, explained that this integration is something else that stems back to colonial times. When the Portuguese were trying to build their empire, each soldier sent to a foreign land was required to take a wife as a way to gain rapport with the people and make their holdings more stable. As a result when people from these colonies came back to Portugal, they were already integrated into society via their Portuguese family members, so there was no need to move into a separate area of the city. There wasn’t any pressure to do so anyways because so many people had foreign family members themselves. Ironically, out of the country’s efforts to colonize – something that usually involves taking someone cultural else’s identity and pushing your own upon them – the Portuguese immersed their own people in multiculturalism. This has given birth to an immeasurable spirit of tolerance in the city. “We have our problems,” our guide told us, “but racism isn’t one of them.” Hearing this from the lips of an immigrant, who feels able to identify in part as Portuguese, gave me so faith in humanity. I’d like to live somewhere where people are seen first as people, rather than as colors, religions or countries.
 |
| Elevator! |
We invested in a Lisboa (name for Lisbon in Portuguese) Card – a wise choice since it afforded us numerous discounts and free entries to museums and monuments in addition to unlimited use of all public transportation systems in the city. This included buses, the metro system, street cars, old-fashioned San Francisco-like trams, as well as the elevators. You could ride up several stories and climb to a panoramic view of the city, but at first I was a bit confused as to why they were considered a mode of transport. This is until I realized hat high up on the back side was an aerial pathway connecting the towering structure with the hill behind it. We tried it once, and although the line took about 20 minutes, the trip in the giant wrought-iron encased box was a much-needed escape fro the winding uphill path through the streets we would have otherwise taken. It was a shame I didn’t have my pedometer, but based on previous experience I can tell you we probably walked 6-8 miles (and sometimes more) each day.
Our last night in Lisbon was dampened by our unsuccessful pursuit of food, as we sort of ended up in the middle of a feud between two restaurants hosts. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, and we should have chosen neither establishment, but we were so hungry and frustrated that we caved. To top it all off, we ended up missing our bus-stop at the airport because the bus stopped at only one of the three that were advertised (you probably have to know when to press the button to tell the bus you want to get out there), and we ended up trekking our bags the half mile back to the airport. Oy. This curbed our mood significantly on the return trip, but once we were back in Dessau for the weekend, it was easy to remember the overall positive feeling of our time there as we scrolled through hundreds of fantastic photos!
With that, I will leave you with one final anecdote that illustrates just how crazy some aspects of the trip became. Erin and I needed stamps, as several of the postcards she was sending were headed for Germany, so she couldn’t just send them when we returned. Unfortunately, she ended up with stamps for Europe on all of her postcards and some needed to go to the U.S. in Portugal you have to take a number and get in line at the post office because the Portuguese like to be able to enjoy coffee if it’s going to be a long wait. So, when Erin came over to the counter where I was still being helped, the attendant noticed the error, removed the stamps and replaced them with new ones, telling us in broken English that she couldn’t resell them, but we could give them away.
We didn’t want the stamps to go to waste, so we decided to try to give them to people who we saw were mailing postcards. Our first victims were an older man and woman. Unfortunately their English wasn’t so good, but when they said they were sending the card to Italy, I jumped in without thinking, “Parla italiano, Lei?” After they replied in the affirmative, I finally managed to explain about the stamps and how they were free because we couldn’t use them. That worked with some minor language hang-ups on my part (my Italian is a bit rusty, and I’ve never had the chance to speak to a lot of native speakers), but then the postmaster came over and started telling us (in Italian!) that it was illegal to sell stamps, which we explained wasn’t what we were trying to do, as did the couple. He still looked angry, so we left a “free stamps” in Portuguese with the help of our dictionary and made our exit. We’re pretty sure the postmaster probably took the stamps away as soon as we were gone, but at least we tried.
I caught Erin completely off guard with my quick transition into Italian, and the two of us laughed about the incident later, although while it was happened, it wasn’t so amusing. And with that, I shall close the door on Lisbon and wait for the next adventure!
Deine,
N*
 |
| Columns on Belém Tower |
 |
| Moorish Castle ruins |
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)