Oh the many embarrassing/awkward moments of starting a new job in a foriegn country where you dont speak the language. I'm going to have so many of those moments in the coming year. yay me.
Maybe my fav moment of the week: Someone approached me as I was getting off the metro to go to work and started speaking to me in German. Instead of saying "I dont speak English", I got tongue-tied, didnt conjugate, and said "you dont speak german". The guy gave me a really weird look, and I quickly walked off because I felt so awkward.
I went grocery shopping, and, SURPRISE! everything is in German. I had milk and cheese on my grocery list. It was a lot more difficult than I thought. Cheeses look surprisingly alike. So I just had to look at it and determine if I liked how it looked. Same with the milk. I did notice that one milk said "Soya" and I stayed away from that. But grocery shopping was hard. I didn't get the cheese I wanted in the end. It's good cheese, but not what I was planning on when I bit into my cheese sandwich.
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| Marienplatz |
It's like having a greenie experience without having a trainer who knows the language to help you out. For example at lunch time (or dinner, when I go to a bakery to get something because I'm too hungry to cook when I get home). I literally look at the food and point to get it. At lunch, I look for the most appetizing meal, and say the German word for "little" so they give me the smaller portion as I point. I honestly don't know what it is that I'm eating. Same at the bakery. I know it's something that looks good. But I have no idea what it's called.
Anther awesome moment is earlier this week with the doors. I know I posted it on facebook, but I just want to say it again. All the doors at work have the german words for "push" and "pull". But when you do not know what the words mean, you recognize it, but you don't know what to do. I would push and pull. There was one door that you push to get in but then there is some sort of knob on the other side you have to twist. So I was standing at the door pushing and pulling for a bit until I decided to try the weirdly shaped knob. Now that I have made flashcards to help me and Matt has given me a little trick to remember, I only slightly pause at doors to think and then I remember. So if you ignore the strange pauses before going through doors, I totally look like I know what's going on. Plus, I even managed to program my email into the german scanner without realizing it. Now that's talent.
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| Dont worry...that's an Orange Fanta in my hand |
At work they gave us a card to get in the doors and then another to put money on so you can buy lunch next door. I tried to put both the cards in the card holder they gave us but it didnt fit. So the second day, I was determined to make it fit. I definitely made it fit, but then I couldnt get it out. :/ I tried using my teeth and different things. I broke a nail. Then an IT guy came in to ask if I needed help with my computer. I said no, but then asked him about the cards and if he could get it out. He took it away and a bit later returned with it out. He then made me promise 3 times that I wouldnt do that again. He saw me later that day and made me show him where my lunch card was.
I had a conference call about the project I'm working on last Thursday. I tried to log in and it wouldnt let me. I messaged my boss to tell her I was having difficulties, but that I was working on it. I had to download java onto my laptop and when it downloaded (after taking forever) it said that it couldnt read it. So I had to download it again. By the time I got it all worked out, I was connected long enough for them to say, "so any questions? ok. well we'll talk again next week. bye!" AHHHHH! Que horror!
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| Beer Garden in English Gardens |
On Friday, things were better. I was feeling good about life. At the end of the day, I realized I was probably one of the last people there because everyone leaves early on Fridays....and the automatic doors stop being automatic. I was standing in front of the automatic door, locked in the building, trying to figure out how I was supposed to get out of the building. Luckily, some guys came up about 2 minutes into it and found the tiny button hidden on a far wall that you press to open the door.
So after a long week of work, Jarrett (who got into Germany earlier that week) and I decided to meet up. We decided to meet in the English Gardens. But my phone died after I told him where in the English Gardens I was. after waiting a bit in one place, I decided to start walking. luckily he spotted me and we were both starving and went to a Beer Garden in the English Gardens to eat. Jarrett got a giant pretzel.
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| Isar River |
On Saturday, Jarrett and I met up. I rented a bike, and we biked around the area. It was a super hot day but Munich is GORGEOUS!!!! The guys renting me the bike said I had to have a "Ladies" bike. It was pink. Lol. We got some ice cream to cool down. We then went across town to play soccer with some of the Munich YSA (Young Single Adult) people. It was fun. It was way to hot for me to play. I was melting and I could hear Saryah in my head yelling about being in the sun and skin cancer, so I stayed in the shade. Then I got a nice little private German tour with a friend the rest of the evening.
Sunday: But I had a great church day. I got into London in time for the YSA meeting time. On the tube I saw a guy in a white shirt, tie, and dark trousers, with a girl in a modest (shoulders covered and dress was down to her knees) dress and I thought, "they're totally going to church". So I used my super creepy stalking skills to follow them out of the station and saw them joined by two other modestly dressed girls. So I asked if they were going to the LDS church and they responded positively, so I asked to follow them. It was lovely. One of the speakers was an RSM (returned sister missionary...i made up that terminology) It was a beautiful talk on the Plan of Happiness (which I LOVE!!!) and we sung "How Firm a Foundation" which is one of my favs! It was a wonderful Sunday. I sat with my new friend Lloyd (who has my dream job of being paid to travel and show people the world) and his Australian lady friend. Then in Sunday School, before the class started, I thought I heard Spanish but I wasnt sure, so I asked as class was starting. The guy said he was from Venezuela! He was super excited I spoke Spanish, but we decided to chat after class. The class was amazing. It was about remembering the wonderful things our Saviour has done for us. It was a great lesson. And afterwards, me, the teacher, and the Venezuelan just chatted it up in Spanish. It was GREAT! I love latinos! It was awesome. They were really funny guys. Then I had to leave in the middle of the third (and last) hour because I had a train to catch....but I missed my train anyways, even though I was totally on time.
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| my "ladies" bike and ice cream |
When I got to my hotel room, I had told my family I wanted to Skype for Father's Day. It was crazy. The sound wasn't working on either of our laptops, so we were miming to each other and typing. Eventually, they could hear me, but I couldnt hear them, so they made me talk a lot and then type the questions. We switched to Gmail video chat after I had to download the function. Then we realize that we could use the video chat of Gmail and the voice my dad's phone's Skype app. It was a fiasco. After about an hour from initial contact, I think we managed to be 100% voice and video functioning with Gmail video chat. WIN!
It's been a good first week in Germany, and this week I'm in Redditch, England. I'll tell you about it next week. On a happy note, Marijn, Jelmer, Jarno, Lukas, and I have finally agreed on a date and location for hanging out. It's going to be a PARTAY! I can't wait.
Frankfurt was a good meeting and the Friday part was cancelled so I was able to go home earlier and work from home for a few hours. In the compartment on the way back was a man with his 6ish-year-old son. The man figured out early on that I spoke no German, while I figured out he didn't speak much English, but the kid didn't get it. So the kid kept on speaking to me in German and I would smile and nod encouragingly. Haha. He was adorable and so full of energy! He was showing me his coupon for a free Popsicle and kept askign his dad to go get it, but his dad made him wait till they got to a certain spot. They left and a few moments later the kid came back and said something, which was probably explaining that they didn't have any Eis. It wasn't till later on when the kid decided to ask me a random question and just look at me expecting an answer that his dad had to attempt to interpret for me. Then the kid looked so sad that I didn't speak his language. But we were still friends because when they got off the train the kid made sure to smile and wave at me from the platform, so I returned the gesture happily because he was adorable! I also ate the best little raspberry tartlet ever for breakfast. Life is good. Lindsay and I were able to go out to the Italian restarant near our apartment building and it was good. I didn't eat all my meal and they guy thought I hated the food. It was a mission flashback moment. lol.
Saturday, Lindsay's "friend", Alex arrived from the States to visit. We all went to the Herrenchiemsee Palace on Lake Chiemsee. It was beautiful and we got to ride a little train to the ferry from the train station, it felt like Disneyland. Then we had to take a ferry to the island that the Palace is on. It was built to honor Versailles in Paris, because King Ludwig II really admired The Sun King, Louis XIV (my fav french monarch too!) It was a nice day till the rain started for a few hours. Then we had to walk back to the train station. But we did manage to buy a Bayern Pass on our own. (personal victory).
Thursday was time for the ALPACA beach bar. We BBQ-ed while hanging out with real alpacas and playing beach volleyball. No seriously. There were alpacas frolicking. We played beach volleyball for a bit. I was terrible. It was 4 against 5 (i was on the team with 5) and i think i cancelled out all advantages having more people could provide. But it was a lot of fun. We had a great BBQ where we learned that the Germans think American's eat A LOT, so they bought more food than we could eat. I had a grilled corn-on-the-cob. I normally have only had them steamed, but it was sooo good with the herb butter they had. Oh man. Loved it. I think the best part was when Petra decided to use a straw to "conduct" Lindsay and I on how to say new German words. It was super fun to go out with the younger co-workers I have. They're all so much fun!
Frankfurt was a good meeting and the Friday part was cancelled so I was able to go home earlier and work from home for a few hours. In the compartment on the way back was a man with his 6ish-year-old son. The man figured out early on that I spoke no German, while I figured out he didn't speak much English, but the kid didn't get it. So the kid kept on speaking to me in German and I would smile and nod encouragingly. Haha. He was adorable and so full of energy! He was showing me his coupon for a free Popsicle and kept askign his dad to go get it, but his dad made him wait till they got to a certain spot. They left and a few moments later the kid came back and said something, which was probably explaining that they didn't have any Eis. It wasn't till later on when the kid decided to ask me a random question and just look at me expecting an answer that his dad had to attempt to interpret for me. Then the kid looked so sad that I didn't speak his language. But we were still friends because when they got off the train the kid made sure to smile and wave at me from the platform, so I returned the gesture happily because he was adorable! I also ate the best little raspberry tartlet ever for breakfast. Life is good. Lindsay and I were able to go out to the Italian restarant near our apartment building and it was good. I didn't eat all my meal and they guy thought I hated the food. It was a mission flashback moment. lol.
Saturday, Lindsay's "friend", Alex arrived from the States to visit. We all went to the Herrenchiemsee Palace on Lake Chiemsee. It was beautiful and we got to ride a little train to the ferry from the train station, it felt like Disneyland. Then we had to take a ferry to the island that the Palace is on. It was built to honor Versailles in Paris, because King Ludwig II really admired The Sun King, Louis XIV (my fav french monarch too!) It was a nice day till the rain started for a few hours. Then we had to walk back to the train station. But we did manage to buy a Bayern Pass on our own. (personal victory).
