Day 45

1. Completed a long-overdue-but-much-needed house cleaning extravaganza, and then enjoyed how the Bims* burned our nostrils for the next 2 hours or so.
2. Enjoyed pretty much the warmest, prettiest day since we came here.
3. Went shopping and got ready for our Grillparty tomorrow.
4. Was shocked and dismayed to find that there is (I kid you not), a lady named Katie who married a German, moved to Germany and then started a blog.  Small world, right? ....or clones????

*Bims is kind of like Windex here.  You can clean pretty much anything with the stuff, it's vinegar-based and very powerful. 

Day 41

1. Learned what is verboten and allowed in the various cultures represented in the class.
2. Went for a long walk in the park by the river and saw a herd of sheep with new lambs- so cute!
3. Got ready for my alien interview next week with Joern.
4. Joern quizzed me on articles and plurals...tough teacher asking trick questions!  :-)

Day 39

1. Finally finished the curtains for 2/3 windows.
2. Had a big German Frühstück with fresh bakery bread...heaven!
3. Studied modal verbs and regular verbs a bit.
4. Made fresh asparagus for dinner*.

*Asparagus season is a big deal here.  They have special pots, whole books devoted to recipes, festivals.  If only every vegetable got such glory!

Day 37

1. Spent most of the day making curtains.
2. Marveled at all the stuff in our life that somebody made*.
3. Went shopping with Joern for a few odds, ends, and deals.
4. Grabbed a doenner for dinner. Yum!

*Example: Curtains are surprisingly more complicated than you would think. 

Day 36

1. Learned how to fill in German forms.
2. Had my first real, full conversation with a stranger in German!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3. Made wurst salat*.
4. Did some homework. 

*Gotta love a country that considers a bunch of meat a 'salad.'

Day 35

1. Learned how to ask about a job.
2. Tried to learn verb conjugation.
3. Went walking through the neighborhood with Joern.
4. Watched Plastic Planet...and was very afraid. 

Day 34

1. Had my second day of German class*.
2. Tried to learn simple past tense.
3. Did some additional educational activities**.
4. Made pfannkuchen (savory filled pancakes- think crepes) with Joern. 

* I love school!  It starts at 8:45, so I wake up super early with Joern and get him to work, and then I drink a coffee and get ready, and then I go on the Tram and a subway to my school.  I have two teachers, one for Mon-Tue, and one for Wed.-Thur.  There are 3 Americans, 2 Brazilians, and 1 each of Greek, Maldovian, Cuban, Chinese, Hungarian, South Korean, Romanian and Spanish people.  They are all very friendly, and we are all at about the same level, all ages.  Several have a spouse working for Siemens, which is headquartered here.  We're in class until 1:00, and I get home a bit before 2:00 (lots of schools get out then, so traffic is busy).  I have so much to learn, and writing is the hardest so far, but I feel like things are clicking more.  Since we come from everywhere, we really do need to talk in German!  I'm looking forward to meeting the Wed-Thur teacher!

**Watched TV (in German of course)