I have to admit that my knowledge of the English language is threatening my new-found German literacy. Because I teach English all the time, I hardly get to practice my German. My knowledge is something that will not likely disappear as long as I call this place home.
I have this recurring guilt everytime I pass by the bookstore in front of my workplace. What used to be a place of pleasure has turned into a battleground of choices. Being the (sometimes) indecisive Libra that I am, I sometimes struggle when I pick up a book: should I opt the easy way out and read the English version, or struggle my way through with German? The oh so easy temptation to pick up the English version is ever present.
To settle the matter, I created a self-imposed policy: I will only read German novels in German and English novels in English. The same applies for movies. I have decided that translations are evil. A tall task in a country where everything is translated. The special screening of Harry Potter in English is in itself a special treat. Apparently, many expats here feel the same way, who watched the movie just because they wanted an English oasis in this sea of German, like me an eternity ago. I remembered my frustration when I watched The Devil Wears Prada in German, because I couldn't relate to the lines spewed by the movie reviews I read.
In the end, I know I have to read German if I want to improve my new skills. I only wish for the patience when I plow through Two Brothers from Fürth.
P.S., Don't tell anyone, but I read Das Parfum auf Englisch.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Iba talaga ang Pinoy!
1,500 inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Cebu City, Cebu at practice! This is their special performance for the Cebuano governor.
Sister Act!
Specially for Filipinos!
Sa mga Bisaya gyud! Dayang Dayang! Hahaha! Ang jologs ko!
Pardon my language, pero tangina! LSS! "Jumbo Hotdog, kaya mo ba 'to?"
Saturday, July 14, 2007
You Pay Now, Bitch!
There are people who were disturbed with so many profanities coming out of a baby's mouth, but I think this sketch is pure genius! The goddamned absurdity of it all, it's one of the funniest things I have seen in a while.
I heard that Pearl's parents have decided to put her into baby retirement. Understandable, and it was good while it lasted. Thanks, bitches!
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Servicewüste Deutschland
The one thing in Germany that would spark a fifteen minute tirade from me--and snickers from my German students--is any mention at the service at Burger King and Mc Donalds.
I come from a place where a large bag of fries costs .50 euro cents. 50 freaking cents. You want ketchup? Sure! Here, have three packets! Do you want more? Better yet, the nice lady behind the counter will give you an empty plastic cup, and you can pump as much ketchup as you want from the ketchup pump in the condiments section. I come from a place where Mc Donalds still fry their fries in Beef Tallow.
In Germany, I don't mind the veggie fries, but what bugs me is that they charge fifteen fucking cents for every packet of ketchup. Fifteen cents! That's a jeepney ride back where I come from. You can buy a 200 g tube of tomato paste at the supermarket for 35 cents! What's the logic of charging 15 cents for a 15 ml packet of ketchup?
It angered me so much that I actually wrote a letter of indignation to the Mc Donalds Germany headquarters. (I tried searching for the letter in my inbox but suspiciously, the email has disappeared, even the copy of the letter I sent isn't in my sent inbox. hmmm...) They said something about the cost of production being too expensive.
And it's not just the service at Mc Donalds and Burger King. A co-teacher at Berlitz bought a pair of shoes at a store in Erfurt, whose name I will not mention. The shoes fell apart after a week. The store only refunded the shoes after he brought in another German-speaking teacher to referee the fight between him vs. the manager.
Besides that, the Zara store in Erfurt is a far cry from the Zara stores that I saw in France. There were dustbunnies making babies in the corners of the dressing rooms, contrary to the German alles ist in Ordnung mentality. Not only that, the overworked teenaged salesperson was quite rude and snapped at us, saying that a particular dressing room is not available.
Come to think of it, there are a lot of very unfriendly salespeople in Germany. I understand that they don't really need the money, but geez, would it kill them to be nice?
I come from a place where a large bag of fries costs .50 euro cents. 50 freaking cents. You want ketchup? Sure! Here, have three packets! Do you want more? Better yet, the nice lady behind the counter will give you an empty plastic cup, and you can pump as much ketchup as you want from the ketchup pump in the condiments section. I come from a place where Mc Donalds still fry their fries in Beef Tallow.
In Germany, I don't mind the veggie fries, but what bugs me is that they charge fifteen fucking cents for every packet of ketchup. Fifteen cents! That's a jeepney ride back where I come from. You can buy a 200 g tube of tomato paste at the supermarket for 35 cents! What's the logic of charging 15 cents for a 15 ml packet of ketchup?
It angered me so much that I actually wrote a letter of indignation to the Mc Donalds Germany headquarters. (I tried searching for the letter in my inbox but suspiciously, the email has disappeared, even the copy of the letter I sent isn't in my sent inbox. hmmm...) They said something about the cost of production being too expensive.
And it's not just the service at Mc Donalds and Burger King. A co-teacher at Berlitz bought a pair of shoes at a store in Erfurt, whose name I will not mention. The shoes fell apart after a week. The store only refunded the shoes after he brought in another German-speaking teacher to referee the fight between him vs. the manager.
Besides that, the Zara store in Erfurt is a far cry from the Zara stores that I saw in France. There were dustbunnies making babies in the corners of the dressing rooms, contrary to the German alles ist in Ordnung mentality. Not only that, the overworked teenaged salesperson was quite rude and snapped at us, saying that a particular dressing room is not available.
Come to think of it, there are a lot of very unfriendly salespeople in Germany. I understand that they don't really need the money, but geez, would it kill them to be nice?
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