The Flavor of Love

Germans love flavors. They add butter to sandwiches in addition to some type of pimped up mustard or mayo and gravy in some form tp most other sources of meat or starch. It is normal to buy pre-marinated cuts of meat and seasoned ground beef. A meat connisour I am not so I haven't tried many of the flavored vaireties but I have sampled a few. There are others, such as raw, flavored ground beef and weiss wurst that I will never taste. Just last night I used preseasoned ground beef which I didn't realize until I smelled much stronger spices than any of the ones I had used. Generaly, I am used to flavoring my own meat so this was not so odd. However, I have noticed the general pallettes of Germans are different than the American tongue. As I type this, I am eating pepper (think the garden variety) flavored potato chips. Pretty much the most popular flavor option I've seen here. You would be hard pressed to find any of the American favorites; salt & vinegar, sour cream & onion, or BBQ. On that note, BBQ is the default flavor for tortilla chips beyond salted. You can also buy BBQ dip, cheese dip or salsa. Don't expect the salsa to be too spicy, I've tried 3 varieties now ans eaten at one Mexican restaurant, salsa in Germany is more sweet and processed tasting than anything. Want cheese flavored tortilla chips to dip in that salsa, too bad. Not an option. How about cheese puffs? You will find a snack food that looks the same, feels the same, is a bit smaller in size but is missing that bright orange cheese color that was sure to stain your fingers. Put one in your mouth and your taste buds are in for a serious shock. There is no overwhelming salt tast, no cheesy flavor, in fact there is an odd similarity to a peanutbutter sandwich because, in Germany, these are peanut flavored. Although, peanut butter will not be found in many German households. It is more of an American import looked down apon by those who have never been to America as a child. While we are on the topic of snack food, watch out for popcorn at the cinema. I expected that over salted over buttered taste that you can really only get at the movies and is part of the cinema experience. Big disapointment, pop corn is sweet and without salt. If you really miss the flavors American snack foods, you can always go to Subway where they stock a selection of Frito Lay products to go with their subs. Tastebuds be prepared for a shock!

A letter to Blog

Dear Blog, I am sorry for neglecting you. I have been teaching too many classes to get out and experience anything worth writing about. When I did experience notable things, I forgot them before I got home to write about them. I will work on this in the future. Maybe a I should carry a tape recorder at all times. Sincerely, ME On a life note, I bought dirt for my flowers. Currently the dirt is in its bag and the flowers have not met it. Introductions must happen tomorrow. If I can nurse these flowers back to health and keep them there Patrick will let me buy Hyacinths. I do love the smell of Hyacinths, it reminds me of Easter. They are also quite pretty but rather short lived. Essentialy, by the time I can prove my plant nurturing skills they will be out of season. I would think this is all part of Patrick's plan for me to not own anymore flowers, however, I'm pret. The ty sure he is unfamiliar with the blooming season of hyacinths. On the topic of Easter. I can't dye Easter eggs this year. Patrick only eats free range eggs or those that come from chickens in a pen. Eggs from caged chickens are not an option. The only white eggs at Real are from caged chickens. The problem arises when you remember that eggs must be hard boiled before coloring. I don't eat hard boiled eggs and Patrick will not eat them from caged chickens so the eggs will never get eaten. As such, we will have no Easter eggs. :( This will be the first year I've not colored eggs with my mom. (Mom, make some good ones for me) Maybe I can color the eggs and give them to homeless people. It would bring them happines and food. Now I'm onto something... Good Night

A letter to Blog

Dear Blog, I am sorry for neglecting you. I have been teaching too many classes to get out and experience anything worth writing about. When I did experience notable things, I forgot them before I got home to write about them. I will work on this in the future. Maybe a I should carry a tape recorder at all times. Sincerely, ME On a life note, I bought dirt for my flowers. Currently the dirt is in its bag and the flowers have not met it. Introductions must happen tomorrow. If I can nurse these flowers back to health and keep them there Patrick will let me buy Hyacinths. I do love the smell of Hyacinths, it reminds me of Easter. They are also quite pretty but rather short lived. Essentialy, by the time I can prove my plant nurturing skills they will be out of season. I would think this is all part of Patrick's plan for me to not own anymore flowers, however, I'm pret. The ty sure he is unfamiliar with the blooming season of hyacinths. On the topic of Easter. I can't dye Easter eggs this year. Patrick only eats free range eggs or those that come from chickens in a pen. Eggs from caged chickens are not an option. The only white eggs at Real are from caged chickens. The problem arises when you remember that eggs must be hard boiled before coloring. I don't eat hard boiled eggs and Patrick will not eat them from caged chickens so the eggs will never get eaten. As such, we will have no Easter eggs. :( This will be the first year I've not colored eggs with my mom. (Mom, make some good ones for me) Maybe I can color the eggs and give them to homeless people. It would bring them happines and food. Now I'm onto something... Good Night

Goals

I decided I need to get serious on my language skills. Also, meine neue goal ist sprechen Deutsch mir.

Activia

Remember Activia, the yogurt with live cultures that promises to enhance your body's digestive health if you eat one a day for 14 days. Okay, it does seem like a scheme to sell yogurt and I did buy a large package this summer and give up after eating about 3 but I decided to try it out again. Today is the infamous day 3 but this time I am convinced I can make it to 14. Mostly because I have better flavors now. Maybe it was due to the extereme newness las t summer but it only existed in 3 or 4 flavors, all of them too normal for me. I was forced to buy the mainstreem strawberry and blueberry and I enjoy an alternative yogurt. I now own vanilla (not too exotic) and maracuja (this crazy fruit that looks a bit like an orange pomegranate and tastes slightly like an orange crossed with a mango). It is delicious and tropical and somehow avaliable in Germany and not hte US. On that note, I found the Spanish naval oranges again and they are still putting Cali's crop to shame. But if you want to feel good about New England you should know that cranberries are rare and exotic here and I'm pretty sure unavaliable in their sour fruit form. The juice was recently introduced, thanks to our very American Ocean Spray, in concetrated, sweetened form. I have heard complaints that you cannot find it in more than 20% fruit juice. And I have yet to locate any of the varieties (cran-apple, cran-mango, cran-lime, etc.) So I guess it's a trade off, maracuja or cranberry, I'd still pick cranberries....that would make a good yogurt, a bit tart but ever so complementary to the natural yogurt flavor.

Ranting a Bit

Due to the amazing unpredictability of my work schedule, I once again have nothing to do today. I am begining to realize this has nothing to do with me or my employer and everything to do with the industry. First of all, I am disposable. For the past week, I've been watching the director of my lanugage school interviewing new candidates. I asume they are all English teachers as the greatest demand for lessons is for English, followed by German. Another training is coming up and I no longer will be the newest teacher. With that I can assume I will get less hours. I still have yet to reach the 30 hours that were set out for me in my interview. I don't think it is possible to get that many in one week as a freelancer, nevermind as the newest teacher. I did just sign on for 12 in one day which should be interesting and exhausting but I need to do it to reach that visa quota as I will be audited April 11th. I also need to get my health insurance sorted. It seems there is so much I could be doing but I can't becasue everything is pending something else. I hope all works out and I can start my new job in April without any problems. I don't hate teaching English it is just boring for the most part. The people I meet are interesting but, other than that, there is no excitement or challenge in my day. Sometimes, the people are high ranking in their career and feel that I could not identify with them as I am only 23. More than once , a student has asked my age. I feel like not telling them because I am sure they form judgements based on this information. Sometimes, I am asked about my background. I once told a student (who is a Dr. by profession) that I finished my MBA before moving out here and she asked why I didn't have a real job. If she only could understand how difficult that is w/o an EU citizenship. I tried to oversimplify the matter for her and change the topic. But it is frustrating to think that I spent 5 years in college (4 undergrad and 1 grad) to get a job that I would have been qualified for years ago based solely on my native language. I understand why we are paid like crap but still feel that we are the liasions between the students/clients and the brand and thus should be paid better. Maybe if I were paid better I would consider going ot a company at 7:15 in the morning to teach 2 lessons. But for a total of about 20 Euros, it's just not worth me getting up and then dealing with public transportation at 6:30am. I am currently torn between keeping the teaching gig part time with my new job or quitting outright. My initial thought was to honor my year commitment and reduce my hours to one or 2 nights per week until it becomes too much. I guess the decision will be made when I find out about my visa. Tomorrow, odd job number 1, VW editing is in full swing so at least it is something different and it is 8 hours of pay so I won't complain. I'm going to go enjoy the sunshine for the rest of my day off.

David

I think I've spent too much time in Germany, last night I had a dream about the Hoff!! It was weird becasue he was trying to talk to me and I was not impressed. Wait that's not weird because he is not impressive. But in my dream I was laughing becasue I know he is really a joke to most people, Americans and Germans. I don't want to dissapoint but the Germans are not as obsessed with him as Americans think, in fact the obsession died in the early 90's, shortly after it began. Now it mostly lives on in American sterotypes.

This photo was form a museum in Berlin dedicated to the revolution of music on culture in Germany. Please note the Hoff to the right of MJ's hand and directly under the title "Sexy New Body" I can't believe he was an international sex symbol.