1. Women will tell you that it looks like you've swallowed a watermelon. Men would say it looks like you have a basketball in your belly.
2. Things that fall on the floor were dropped there by the devil himself. Bending over when you have a watermelon (or basketball) in your belly is hell.
3. Watching the baby's kicks from the outside is even funnier and more exciting than feeling it from the inside. Imagine your belly moving in waves with sudden changes in it's size in certain places.
4. Being pregnant is a preparation for being a parent: you're tired ALL the time, you can't eat much (the space time continuum: now there's no space, when you're a parent- there's no time), you have a responsibility on the child's health, it prevents you from doing things you were used to (doing sports, going out late etc.).
5. 9 full months feels like FOREVER. At some point you forget the times you weren't pregnant.
6. Pregnancy stupidity can be funny at times, and can be embarrassing at others. Funny- when you realize that you've spent an hour looking online for the same wool you got for the the baby's blanket you're knitting, coz you think you don't have enough of it. Then you realize you have double the amount you thought (who would have thought to just count the rolls of wool that are lying right next to you in a plastic bag?!). Embarrassing - when you use the wrong terms in German, making the meaning of a sentence totally change, when chatting on Skype to fellow students, who don't even know you're pregnant.
7. The younger the baby in a stroller is- the nicer his or her mother would smile at you when seeing your big pregnant belly.
8. The bigger your belly is, the sadder the seller at a furniture store will look at you, when you ask "how long will it take to deliver?"
9. There are more baby stores online in Germany than online supermarkets that deliver. Although Germany definitely doesn't have a high birth rate.
10. You can guess in what part of town you are, according to the amount of fancy strollers you see in the streets.
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Monday, November 15, 2010
Monday, June 30, 2008
Insight about soccer and bikes
I read here on one of the newspapers that there were 13.33 million women who watched the soccer game between Germany and Portugal. This fact is even more interesting when you read the number of male watchers of the same game: 12.81 million. More woman in Germany have watched this game. Isn't that amazing?
When we went to watch a game (usually in pubs or beer gardens) we could see just as many women wearing all kinds of soccer gadgets as men. Women were wearing the German flag on them selves, painted their faces with the flag's colors, and went everywhere to watch the games- just like men did.
Do I sound old and chauvinistic saying that? coz only when I read those numbers I realized how important it became for women. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that the whole country is in it- and there's this hype around the "Us" in Germany (and in every country I guess). Women want to be a part of the society, and nowadays - this is a way to become one.
About a week ago I rode my bicycle for the first time wearing a skirt. I guess that the male readers just asked themselves: so what??? well, I'll tell you what- it's weird!!! But it felt very free, I must say...
2.5 weeks to go till the end of my stupid German exam (but who's counting?), and I still haven't gotten an answer from the uni in Munich... I'm starting to get nervous. I was never nervous about anything like that in my life (as much as I remember). When???
Nice to write again. Even if it's not much.
When we went to watch a game (usually in pubs or beer gardens) we could see just as many women wearing all kinds of soccer gadgets as men. Women were wearing the German flag on them selves, painted their faces with the flag's colors, and went everywhere to watch the games- just like men did.
Do I sound old and chauvinistic saying that? coz only when I read those numbers I realized how important it became for women. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that the whole country is in it- and there's this hype around the "Us" in Germany (and in every country I guess). Women want to be a part of the society, and nowadays - this is a way to become one.
About a week ago I rode my bicycle for the first time wearing a skirt. I guess that the male readers just asked themselves: so what??? well, I'll tell you what- it's weird!!! But it felt very free, I must say...
2.5 weeks to go till the end of my stupid German exam (but who's counting?), and I still haven't gotten an answer from the uni in Munich... I'm starting to get nervous. I was never nervous about anything like that in my life (as much as I remember). When???
Nice to write again. Even if it's not much.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Inscapism
I went to the movies last night with my German friend. It was an Israeli movie called: "The Bubble". I don't wanna tell you exactly what it is about, but in short it's about love between a Jewish Israeli man and a Palestinian man. It's about impossible love. Politically and Socially. It was a good film, not the best I ever watched, but a good one that makes you think. Well... It makes ppl that are not Israeli's think. Me? I just got depressed.
Usually ppl who go to the movies want their good nice piece of escapism. They want to run away for 2 hours. Get away from normal life. This movie for me, as an Israeli, especially one that lives abroad, was a lot more inscapism than escapism. It totally drew me back to the problems there. Took me there by force, like there was a vacuum there that just sucked me back in. I tried to resist but it just didn't work, the force was much stronger than me. It pulled me in like a black hole, and really, there was nothing I could do. It started taking me back to the sad reality. It was worse than reading the news. I can't stop thinking about it. I went to sleep thinking about it. The first thing that crossed my mind when I opened my eyes this morning- was the ending of the movie. Again- I don't wanna spoil it for you- but I'll just say that I got so depressed. The whole day in school today I couldn't think about anything else. And it's not like there's not nice and happy things going on in the movie. There are! But the sad things... And these sad things- they're not even that realistic (to my opinion) they are a bit exaggerated, but still, they made their point. And it did it's job- it made me sad.
The last thing someone says in the movie is something like:
"Maybe one day ppl will see that fighting in wars is so stupid, and loving is so much better.
Nahhh.... No one will."
And on this happy note-
I'll just wish a happy birthday to my cute brother Daniel: he's 7 years old today!!!
Usually ppl who go to the movies want their good nice piece of escapism. They want to run away for 2 hours. Get away from normal life. This movie for me, as an Israeli, especially one that lives abroad, was a lot more inscapism than escapism. It totally drew me back to the problems there. Took me there by force, like there was a vacuum there that just sucked me back in. I tried to resist but it just didn't work, the force was much stronger than me. It pulled me in like a black hole, and really, there was nothing I could do. It started taking me back to the sad reality. It was worse than reading the news. I can't stop thinking about it. I went to sleep thinking about it. The first thing that crossed my mind when I opened my eyes this morning- was the ending of the movie. Again- I don't wanna spoil it for you- but I'll just say that I got so depressed. The whole day in school today I couldn't think about anything else. And it's not like there's not nice and happy things going on in the movie. There are! But the sad things... And these sad things- they're not even that realistic (to my opinion) they are a bit exaggerated, but still, they made their point. And it did it's job- it made me sad.
The last thing someone says in the movie is something like:
"Maybe one day ppl will see that fighting in wars is so stupid, and loving is so much better.
Nahhh.... No one will."
And on this happy note-
I'll just wish a happy birthday to my cute brother Daniel: he's 7 years old today!!!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
A time to relax
Yesterday I had an exam. It was coz we finished a level, and we have to take it and pass it in order to go to the next level. My teachers really prepared us well- we practiced a lot, and in the end the exam was much easier than what they prepared us for. The other groups, including my old group, didn't think it was so easy. So again I thank myself for changing the group. Today, while the teachers are checking our exams, we have a day off, and tomorrow we'll get the answers.
I made friends with a real nice girl, who joined my old group the day I left. She's from Chile, and she's cool and fun. She's here coz her boyfriend is from here, so naturally we have a lot to talk about (and complain about..).
Other than that nothing too exciting is going on in my life, Goni had her baby (girl!), Adi's baby is home now after being in the hospital for the first 3 months of his life. I wish them both all the health and sleep and happiness in the world! It's a bit weird that two of my best friends are mothers now... Especially coz it's two girls (are they already women? hmmm...) who were the ones I would guess last to become parents. The one was always late in doing everything everybody else does, plus she's a real researcher, who's doing her PhD now (but on a maternity break). The other... Her I met about 7 years ago, in those days the last thing she wanted was to have kids, and in general she hated those little creatures (even though where we met was in a job of teaching kids hahaha). But life has it's own way of biting you you know where, and even though I was always the one (and still am) that loves kids and almost everything that has to do with them, the one that works with kids, and sees her self doing that for the rest of her life, those friends are still first in line.
At least I know what the reason is... These girls were always the ones that will do things the way they're suppose to be done. I'm, how to say, not really like that... I'm not a crazy person, I'm not a 'real' rebel, not from the outside. I look totally conventional, and if you just see me in the street, you'll never guess exactly what kind of person I am. But if you look at my life you can see, that I'm not necessarily the person who does what everyone expects her to do. Well, that's just me.
I'm knitting a lot lately! I love it! I'm knitting a baby cover for Adi's son, and a scarf for my sister. She's coming in about 3 weeks with my mom!!! YEY!!! I'm so excited about it! Already booked a place for all of us in Berlin (where we'll be for the first 3 days) and a place for them to stay close to where we live in Dresden (for the last 3 days). Now all I have to do is make a list of places in both cities we want to see, and that's it. I miss them a lot, my mom and sis, and it's gonna be great!
Anyway, I really don't have anything exciting to tell,
wish you all a great weekend,
I made friends with a real nice girl, who joined my old group the day I left. She's from Chile, and she's cool and fun. She's here coz her boyfriend is from here, so naturally we have a lot to talk about (and complain about..).
Other than that nothing too exciting is going on in my life, Goni had her baby (girl!), Adi's baby is home now after being in the hospital for the first 3 months of his life. I wish them both all the health and sleep and happiness in the world! It's a bit weird that two of my best friends are mothers now... Especially coz it's two girls (are they already women? hmmm...) who were the ones I would guess last to become parents. The one was always late in doing everything everybody else does, plus she's a real researcher, who's doing her PhD now (but on a maternity break). The other... Her I met about 7 years ago, in those days the last thing she wanted was to have kids, and in general she hated those little creatures (even though where we met was in a job of teaching kids hahaha). But life has it's own way of biting you you know where, and even though I was always the one (and still am) that loves kids and almost everything that has to do with them, the one that works with kids, and sees her self doing that for the rest of her life, those friends are still first in line.
At least I know what the reason is... These girls were always the ones that will do things the way they're suppose to be done. I'm, how to say, not really like that... I'm not a crazy person, I'm not a 'real' rebel, not from the outside. I look totally conventional, and if you just see me in the street, you'll never guess exactly what kind of person I am. But if you look at my life you can see, that I'm not necessarily the person who does what everyone expects her to do. Well, that's just me.
I'm knitting a lot lately! I love it! I'm knitting a baby cover for Adi's son, and a scarf for my sister. She's coming in about 3 weeks with my mom!!! YEY!!! I'm so excited about it! Already booked a place for all of us in Berlin (where we'll be for the first 3 days) and a place for them to stay close to where we live in Dresden (for the last 3 days). Now all I have to do is make a list of places in both cities we want to see, and that's it. I miss them a lot, my mom and sis, and it's gonna be great!
Anyway, I really don't have anything exciting to tell,
wish you all a great weekend,
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
A post from bed
First I want to start and say thank you to all the readers and friends that commented and e-mailed me on my last post... You guys don't know how much it helped when I read all these nice things!
I got sick on Friday, right after school (didn't feel great there already) I came home and all I wanted to do is go lay in bed. I didn't even have the wish to sleep- I just wanted to lie down... I had a fever and in general was sure that I was gonna die (a drama queen stays a drama queen even when she's sick, and especially when she's sick). Rob was, as usual, my personal nurse, called his mom for Homeopathic help, brought me loads of tea, made me drink it when I was too lazy, gave me medicine and kept me company. On Saturday morning I already felt much much better, and even tough I wasn't at my best yet we went to my class's evening out (felt bad missing it). It was nice, we stayed too long, and when I got home I crashed into bed- coz the next day in the morning I had my Hebrew class. The lessons went good, they're really happy with me there, and that's nice.
Note to self: Stop being a perfectionist - stop working on every lesson for 3 hours. I'm not getting payed so much for the preparation.
On Monday was still not feeling great, but had school and didn't wanna miss it, also I needed to bring some documents to the secretary there. In the end - stupid me I forgot a page - and had to take it back home and bring it again... This morning I really didn't feel great again, so decided that I'm staying home. Called the secretary and asked if I can bring the things tomorrow- she said yes and that's it- I'm missing a day of school! I can't remember a time when I felt so bad about not going to school. I used to skip school all the time. I was an expert in doing everything else but going to school. What happened to that? I don't wanna miss classes all of a sudden, being afraid I wont be able to catch up. It's totally dumb I know that, but can't stop feeling this way...
***
We have a really nice board game from the home of the National Geographic. In the game you're a photographer and you need to bring photos from around the world. You get an assignment list of things you're suppose to take their picture, and you have to guess where the photos on the cards were taken, if you guess right you get this card. There's a lot of photo cards there, all National Geographic photos- meaning beautiful pictures from around the globe, and it's fun playing. You can also answer a question about the continent your picture was from and win tokens. This game was brand new when we opened it- but it was bought years ago- rather in 1990, and it's amazing to see how much the world has changed since then- on the board there's still the Soviet Union, all the Balkan countries are not divided to independent ones (for example there's still Czechoslovakia) there is Western Germany and Eastern Germany, and also- Yemen is still divided to 2 countries! I started thinking about it- and in that year, 1990 I was already starting my teenage years, and since then not that much time has past- but the world has changed so much! The lives of billions of ppl has changed to the better and to the worse, wars started and ended, ppl moved from one country to another- escaping bad consequences of the changes around them. It's been only 17 years since then- but so much has happened.
I was thinking lately how our lives are relatively temporary compared with the age of this world. Nations rose and fell, cultures were successful and colorful and rich in mind and material, and they all disappeared. Nowadays, us here in the western world, see ourselves as the powerful group of ppl, the lucky ones, the ones with the options. Who knows if that is the way it's gonna be like in 20, 30, 40, 50 years from now? Things have changed before that in much less time. It's scary because I find it hard to imagine a better era for the 'western' world.
***
Will try to stop make you guys all depressed, and wish you a good day,
I hope I'll get to update more often,
Tschüss!
I got sick on Friday, right after school (didn't feel great there already) I came home and all I wanted to do is go lay in bed. I didn't even have the wish to sleep- I just wanted to lie down... I had a fever and in general was sure that I was gonna die (a drama queen stays a drama queen even when she's sick, and especially when she's sick). Rob was, as usual, my personal nurse, called his mom for Homeopathic help, brought me loads of tea, made me drink it when I was too lazy, gave me medicine and kept me company. On Saturday morning I already felt much much better, and even tough I wasn't at my best yet we went to my class's evening out (felt bad missing it). It was nice, we stayed too long, and when I got home I crashed into bed- coz the next day in the morning I had my Hebrew class. The lessons went good, they're really happy with me there, and that's nice.
Note to self: Stop being a perfectionist - stop working on every lesson for 3 hours. I'm not getting payed so much for the preparation.
On Monday was still not feeling great, but had school and didn't wanna miss it, also I needed to bring some documents to the secretary there. In the end - stupid me I forgot a page - and had to take it back home and bring it again... This morning I really didn't feel great again, so decided that I'm staying home. Called the secretary and asked if I can bring the things tomorrow- she said yes and that's it- I'm missing a day of school! I can't remember a time when I felt so bad about not going to school. I used to skip school all the time. I was an expert in doing everything else but going to school. What happened to that? I don't wanna miss classes all of a sudden, being afraid I wont be able to catch up. It's totally dumb I know that, but can't stop feeling this way...
***
We have a really nice board game from the home of the National Geographic. In the game you're a photographer and you need to bring photos from around the world. You get an assignment list of things you're suppose to take their picture, and you have to guess where the photos on the cards were taken, if you guess right you get this card. There's a lot of photo cards there, all National Geographic photos- meaning beautiful pictures from around the globe, and it's fun playing. You can also answer a question about the continent your picture was from and win tokens. This game was brand new when we opened it- but it was bought years ago- rather in 1990, and it's amazing to see how much the world has changed since then- on the board there's still the Soviet Union, all the Balkan countries are not divided to independent ones (for example there's still Czechoslovakia) there is Western Germany and Eastern Germany, and also- Yemen is still divided to 2 countries! I started thinking about it- and in that year, 1990 I was already starting my teenage years, and since then not that much time has past- but the world has changed so much! The lives of billions of ppl has changed to the better and to the worse, wars started and ended, ppl moved from one country to another- escaping bad consequences of the changes around them. It's been only 17 years since then- but so much has happened.
I was thinking lately how our lives are relatively temporary compared with the age of this world. Nations rose and fell, cultures were successful and colorful and rich in mind and material, and they all disappeared. Nowadays, us here in the western world, see ourselves as the powerful group of ppl, the lucky ones, the ones with the options. Who knows if that is the way it's gonna be like in 20, 30, 40, 50 years from now? Things have changed before that in much less time. It's scary because I find it hard to imagine a better era for the 'western' world.
***
Will try to stop make you guys all depressed, and wish you a good day,
I hope I'll get to update more often,
Tschüss!
Thursday, November 22, 2007
High maintenance
Thanks to Facebook, I got to be in touch again with ppl I haven't talked to in ages. Ages can be more than 10 years sometimes... In the last few weeks I've been telling at least 20 ppl from my past what's up with me nowadays. Some got the short version and some the longer one. Some asked more questions than others and some told me what they think about my life. They think that it's so exciting. It sounds so amazing and interesting and different. Even though there's so many Israelis that go abroad and live and learn and experience. On days like today I wonder if they're even close to the truth. I wonder how important these experiences are. I know it builds my personality, and learning languages and getting to know new cultures is something that I will thank in years from now. But on days like this one- I wonder what's the point in all that. Why today of all days? Well it's just another day I feel lost in the language. I feel that German is way too complicated to comprehend as an outsider. I feel there's no point sitting in class and learning the million grammar rules- if I don't feel that I can actually speak.
Having this kind of 'exciting' life needs very high maintenance: it starts with days you just wish you were in your homeland- coz of the weather, or the food, or the ppl, or the language, or how easy it is to do things - coz you really understand how to. It also brings you to a very lonely place sometimes, no matter how many ppl are around you, and even when the person that you love so much is just next to you. You are reminded on a daily basis that you are different. You are shown that if you just lay back, relax and basically do nothing- your feeling about the place will stay stuck where it is- coz you wont make any progress with the language, will not meet any new ppl to hang out with, and in the end- what's the point of being "somewhere else" if you don't get to taste everything that it brings with it? Changing your life and the place you live in so often, being a foreigner everywhere you go, speaking a language you don't really connect to, learning it without knowing exactly why, all these things really take a lot of my energy. I feel like I put myself on a very low flame, and there's hardly any energy coming through. The weather of course doesn't help. I don't hate it yet- it's cold but not too bad, but when you feel like there's no purpose to what you're doing, a sunny day can make you feel all better as if you were on Prozac...
German has such specific words. They have a different word for "rose by" and "rose to", they have a different word for "melts in your mouth" and just "melts". It feels so impossible to speak correctly- coz you know that you're probably using the wrong word. If there's too many options- you must choose the wrong one, no?
It feels that the ppl here are really like that sometimes. Everything is so precise- you have no gray zones to go to. No flexibility. none. The stereotypes are generally true. We call it being Jeke (pronounced: Yeke). Liking everything exact. Precise. Correct. Familiar. Not different. Just let me have my cup of coffee with exactly 138 grains of sugar in it, 2.67 ml of milk, and let it be a kind that I already know and like. It should be served to me at exactly 16:04. God forbid it's anything different. I will just die.
Of course I'm overreacting, but writing and overreacting goes together. I can't really explain to you these kind of things without exaggerating.
Going to make lunch. Hopefully will feel like writing more later. It helps. Me.
Having this kind of 'exciting' life needs very high maintenance: it starts with days you just wish you were in your homeland- coz of the weather, or the food, or the ppl, or the language, or how easy it is to do things - coz you really understand how to. It also brings you to a very lonely place sometimes, no matter how many ppl are around you, and even when the person that you love so much is just next to you. You are reminded on a daily basis that you are different. You are shown that if you just lay back, relax and basically do nothing- your feeling about the place will stay stuck where it is- coz you wont make any progress with the language, will not meet any new ppl to hang out with, and in the end- what's the point of being "somewhere else" if you don't get to taste everything that it brings with it? Changing your life and the place you live in so often, being a foreigner everywhere you go, speaking a language you don't really connect to, learning it without knowing exactly why, all these things really take a lot of my energy. I feel like I put myself on a very low flame, and there's hardly any energy coming through. The weather of course doesn't help. I don't hate it yet- it's cold but not too bad, but when you feel like there's no purpose to what you're doing, a sunny day can make you feel all better as if you were on Prozac...
German has such specific words. They have a different word for "rose by" and "rose to", they have a different word for "melts in your mouth" and just "melts". It feels so impossible to speak correctly- coz you know that you're probably using the wrong word. If there's too many options- you must choose the wrong one, no?
It feels that the ppl here are really like that sometimes. Everything is so precise- you have no gray zones to go to. No flexibility. none. The stereotypes are generally true. We call it being Jeke (pronounced: Yeke). Liking everything exact. Precise. Correct. Familiar. Not different. Just let me have my cup of coffee with exactly 138 grains of sugar in it, 2.67 ml of milk, and let it be a kind that I already know and like. It should be served to me at exactly 16:04. God forbid it's anything different. I will just die.
Of course I'm overreacting, but writing and overreacting goes together. I can't really explain to you these kind of things without exaggerating.
Going to make lunch. Hopefully will feel like writing more later. It helps. Me.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Crazy weather
It's hot. It's cold. It's sunny. It's rainy. It's sweaty. It's windy. It's nuts!
I have a theory: (it's not a new one- but I'm starting to think I was right all along)
Where the weather is stable - the ppl are crazy. Where the weather is crazy - the ppl are a bit less crazy (I don't know a place with non-crazy ppl- even a bit). You can see it in Israel- where you have exactly 4 seasons, or if you want - exactly 2 seasons and something in between them - there's the short and harmless winter, and then some spring- when the weather changes a lot- but the whole thing doesn't take longer than 2 months, then there's the long and excruciating summer, that starts nice and warm, time for the beach and some color on your skin, and ends with 100% humidity and jelly-fish in the sea, and 38°c that make you wish you were dead in the good case or frozen in the bad case. In both of the real 2 seasons Israel has- you don't really have to pay attention to the weather report (and maybe that's why it's not the most popular part of the news) coz you can totally guess how tomorrow's gonna be like at almost any day. Let's say for example that it's August 9th now, and you wanna plan something for next week, something outdoorsy, you can easily guess that in the north on the mountains it's gonna be warm but not too warm and not too humid in the evenings, and in the mornings you better take your sunglasses. In the Vally, and also in the south of Israel - you know it's gonna be 200% humidity (in the Vally) and 40°c easy, and in the desert in the south - it's gonna be about 45°c and much dryer- just that you feel as if someone is standing close to you with a huge fan and drying you dead. My point is (even though I totally drifted away) that in Israel in most cases you'll be able to guess what the weather is gonna be like in a week or a month or in half a year from now. That means the weather is kinda stable. But the ppl? ohhhh We are crazy!!! I say we coz obv I'm still an Israeli- and you can take the girl out of Israel but as much as I hate to admit it- you really can't take the Israel out of the girl.
Now take Germany for another example. You might be able to guess that in January it's gonna snow here and there, but not just that you can't be sure of that- that's about the only thing you've got. Take the last few weeks: it was so hot sometimes that I was complaining about not having AC's here- even though in Israel I hate those things for ruining the environment and freezing as if I was in the north poll. The next day- after having about 36°c - we again had rain and thunder storms, wind and coooold... My theory says that as long as the weather is crazy like that - the ppl create a mechanism that helps them stay less insane- and they become much more boring (of course not all ppl- just in general).
Now, my theory has lots of holes in it- I know- coz the German ppl I know - are far from boring. But on the other hand- they really don't look as crazy as the Israeli ppl look to me when I'm in Israel (and again- that includes me in a way). By crazy I obviously mean- a lot more spontaneous, a lot reckless, a lot more chance taking, and risk taking, and a lot more open and smiley, to anyone, even ppl they don't know, a lot more interfering- in the 'butting in' kinda way- telling you what they think even if you just met them 2 seconds ago and so on.
I know my thoughts here are very confused, I actually thought I wont be able to write a thing- I had this kinda block - I think I blame learning German for that- coz I really spend a lot of brain-band-width (it's a new term I just came up with) on studying- more than I ever did in my life (I really like these German lessons, it's fun).
***
Yesterday we went with a few classmates of mine and even my teacher and her boyfriend to a movie. It's kinda rare to see a movie here for me- coz they dub everything on TV and in cinema to German (how stupid is that???). So there's a few cinemas that show the movies in their original language- and we went to see Ocean's 13. I had a really good time! I liked the movie, I think it was better than Ocean's 12 and just as good as Ocean's 11, and I enjoyed the company so much too! After the movie we all went to have a beer- and it was great!
Tonight Rob's out with a friend, and it's the first time he goes out alone (without me) since I came here - and I think it's really good he did. People need some time alone, and time with their friends without a non-German-speaking girlfriend to tag along... :-)
***
Tomorrow Rob's parents are coming here for a day- on their way to an event in Berlin. They're gonna arrive when I'm still at school, and I'll meet them all right after. We're prob gonna be touring Dresden a bit, even though it's really not their first time here.
***
That's all for now kids!
I have a theory: (it's not a new one- but I'm starting to think I was right all along)
Where the weather is stable - the ppl are crazy. Where the weather is crazy - the ppl are a bit less crazy (I don't know a place with non-crazy ppl- even a bit). You can see it in Israel- where you have exactly 4 seasons, or if you want - exactly 2 seasons and something in between them - there's the short and harmless winter, and then some spring- when the weather changes a lot- but the whole thing doesn't take longer than 2 months, then there's the long and excruciating summer, that starts nice and warm, time for the beach and some color on your skin, and ends with 100% humidity and jelly-fish in the sea, and 38°c that make you wish you were dead in the good case or frozen in the bad case. In both of the real 2 seasons Israel has- you don't really have to pay attention to the weather report (and maybe that's why it's not the most popular part of the news) coz you can totally guess how tomorrow's gonna be like at almost any day. Let's say for example that it's August 9th now, and you wanna plan something for next week, something outdoorsy, you can easily guess that in the north on the mountains it's gonna be warm but not too warm and not too humid in the evenings, and in the mornings you better take your sunglasses. In the Vally, and also in the south of Israel - you know it's gonna be 200% humidity (in the Vally) and 40°c easy, and in the desert in the south - it's gonna be about 45°c and much dryer- just that you feel as if someone is standing close to you with a huge fan and drying you dead. My point is (even though I totally drifted away) that in Israel in most cases you'll be able to guess what the weather is gonna be like in a week or a month or in half a year from now. That means the weather is kinda stable. But the ppl? ohhhh We are crazy!!! I say we coz obv I'm still an Israeli- and you can take the girl out of Israel but as much as I hate to admit it- you really can't take the Israel out of the girl.
Now take Germany for another example. You might be able to guess that in January it's gonna snow here and there, but not just that you can't be sure of that- that's about the only thing you've got. Take the last few weeks: it was so hot sometimes that I was complaining about not having AC's here- even though in Israel I hate those things for ruining the environment and freezing as if I was in the north poll. The next day- after having about 36°c - we again had rain and thunder storms, wind and coooold... My theory says that as long as the weather is crazy like that - the ppl create a mechanism that helps them stay less insane- and they become much more boring (of course not all ppl- just in general).
Now, my theory has lots of holes in it- I know- coz the German ppl I know - are far from boring. But on the other hand- they really don't look as crazy as the Israeli ppl look to me when I'm in Israel (and again- that includes me in a way). By crazy I obviously mean- a lot more spontaneous, a lot reckless, a lot more chance taking, and risk taking, and a lot more open and smiley, to anyone, even ppl they don't know, a lot more interfering- in the 'butting in' kinda way- telling you what they think even if you just met them 2 seconds ago and so on.
I know my thoughts here are very confused, I actually thought I wont be able to write a thing- I had this kinda block - I think I blame learning German for that- coz I really spend a lot of brain-band-width (it's a new term I just came up with) on studying- more than I ever did in my life (I really like these German lessons, it's fun).
***
Yesterday we went with a few classmates of mine and even my teacher and her boyfriend to a movie. It's kinda rare to see a movie here for me- coz they dub everything on TV and in cinema to German (how stupid is that???). So there's a few cinemas that show the movies in their original language- and we went to see Ocean's 13. I had a really good time! I liked the movie, I think it was better than Ocean's 12 and just as good as Ocean's 11, and I enjoyed the company so much too! After the movie we all went to have a beer- and it was great!
Tonight Rob's out with a friend, and it's the first time he goes out alone (without me) since I came here - and I think it's really good he did. People need some time alone, and time with their friends without a non-German-speaking girlfriend to tag along... :-)
***
Tomorrow Rob's parents are coming here for a day- on their way to an event in Berlin. They're gonna arrive when I'm still at school, and I'll meet them all right after. We're prob gonna be touring Dresden a bit, even though it's really not their first time here.
***
That's all for now kids!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Exposed
Lots of things on my mind. I've been "writing" this post in my head so many times in the last few days. Before I fell asleep, in the car, while having my walk on the beach (have been walking on the beach for 40 minutes each, 3 times a week lately- sweat is a good thing sometimes- makes you feel cleaner afterwards). It always had this title. Exposed. Because I feel this way. Exposed. Some things happened this week that I must admit I don't feel like talking about them, but I just wanted to share the way I feel. Exposed. It kinda feels like there's a battle between my head and my heart. My heart wants to say it all. Expose. My head, well that's a different story. My head knows that Internet can be really great sometimes- but also really bad. Or rather ppl can make bad use of it. And my head reminds me that my life is made of little pieces that include other ppl's stories. My head tell me that without these ppl- my story would definitely not be the same. A lot less interesting to be exact. My head tells me to consider these ppl when writing something everybody is invited to read. And in this case- my heart actually signed the peace offer and said: I agree. My heart and my head agree that ppl should not be offended by what's written here, and that ppl who are important to me should be able to veto having them mentioned here. So I'm asking you guys to let me know how you feel about me writing about you here.
I decided to open this blog for my friends. So they know what's going on with me when I'm not around. After a while I told my parents that I'm writing a blog, coz I felt that it's the right thing to do. I still feel it's right. I've seen ppl entering my blog from all kinds of places. Who knows who really reads it though, but I'll say it one more time (I'm pretty sure I've said before): the reason I keep writing this blog is not the reason I opened it for mainly. I write it to let it all out. I write coz I like writing. No. I love writing. I've been writing since I learned how to connect letters into words. I was one of the favorite pupils in our "creative writing" class in school, in the 5th grade. The teacher, who is a writer, chose me and a few others from the school to invite us into her home and teach us a class in the afternoons with the same name. It was my favorite class in the whole wide world. I've attended a million classes and activities in my life. Ballet. Ceramics. Tennis. Swimming. Tap dancing. Scouts. Piano lessons. But the creative writing was my absolute favorite. When I was in the 7th grade, after a year and a half of creative writing the class stopped. The teacher's son, who was in the army at the time, got crushed by a truck in the worst accident that ever happened at the corner of my street. She couldn't give the classes anymore. She was so sad. We were so sad for her. She was, and still is a great person. I met her a few more times in life, in all of these times it was a coincidence, and we both were very happy to see each other. I was shocked she recognized me the first time it happened.
So why am I sharing this? Coz I wanted you guys to know that writing is not something I do only for you. Or just to be able to share a story. I do it- coz after I write I feel so much better. I feel lighter. I feel like a huge bag of stones is off of me. Sometimes my writing is more like a story, telling you whats new- and I believe that telling my story is a bit like therapy. and sometimes it's just my thoughts and feelings. Which obviously is like therapy. Some ppl do sports obsessively, some ppl read the newspaper and listen to the news all day, some ppl watch TV shows for hours, some ppl read books (well so do I) etc. I write.
I do hope that ppl reading my blog read it coz they enjoy it.
Or at least coz it's interesting for them in some level.
I'm writing this blog- for me.
I decided to open this blog for my friends. So they know what's going on with me when I'm not around. After a while I told my parents that I'm writing a blog, coz I felt that it's the right thing to do. I still feel it's right. I've seen ppl entering my blog from all kinds of places. Who knows who really reads it though, but I'll say it one more time (I'm pretty sure I've said before): the reason I keep writing this blog is not the reason I opened it for mainly. I write it to let it all out. I write coz I like writing. No. I love writing. I've been writing since I learned how to connect letters into words. I was one of the favorite pupils in our "creative writing" class in school, in the 5th grade. The teacher, who is a writer, chose me and a few others from the school to invite us into her home and teach us a class in the afternoons with the same name. It was my favorite class in the whole wide world. I've attended a million classes and activities in my life. Ballet. Ceramics. Tennis. Swimming. Tap dancing. Scouts. Piano lessons. But the creative writing was my absolute favorite. When I was in the 7th grade, after a year and a half of creative writing the class stopped. The teacher's son, who was in the army at the time, got crushed by a truck in the worst accident that ever happened at the corner of my street. She couldn't give the classes anymore. She was so sad. We were so sad for her. She was, and still is a great person. I met her a few more times in life, in all of these times it was a coincidence, and we both were very happy to see each other. I was shocked she recognized me the first time it happened.
So why am I sharing this? Coz I wanted you guys to know that writing is not something I do only for you. Or just to be able to share a story. I do it- coz after I write I feel so much better. I feel lighter. I feel like a huge bag of stones is off of me. Sometimes my writing is more like a story, telling you whats new- and I believe that telling my story is a bit like therapy. and sometimes it's just my thoughts and feelings. Which obviously is like therapy. Some ppl do sports obsessively, some ppl read the newspaper and listen to the news all day, some ppl watch TV shows for hours, some ppl read books (well so do I) etc. I write.
I do hope that ppl reading my blog read it coz they enjoy it.
Or at least coz it's interesting for them in some level.
I'm writing this blog- for me.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Some updates and some thoughts
What should I begin with? the update or the thoughts? hmmm...
update- coz it's not gonna be very long... Tonight is my last night in this apartment (I should be saying my apartment, or maybe I should even say: our apartment) before I go back to Israel. Tomorrow we're going to Rob's parents' for the weekend and my flight back is on Sunday night. We're gonna meet about 15 members of his family- all gonna stay at his parents' house (yes, it's gonna be like camp or something). They are all coming for a special occasion called "Landkreislauf"= the Landkreis (= district) race. Every year there's a relay race in that region, there's usually about 200 groups, each has 11 runners. The big prize is winning the race, and everyone gets a T-shirt of that year (every year it's a different color...). This year Rob's family decided to celebrate his grandma's 85 birthday in a special way: 11 of her 19 grand kids are gonna form into a group and run for her in the race. They even got matching T-shirts with "85" in the front, and in the back it says: "Elfriedes Enkel" = meaning "Elfriede's grandchildren". I specifically wanted to see this race- and that's one of the reasons I stayed in Germany until now... They are all coming from Austria except for Rob, his sister and brother and one cousin. I already know I'm gonna hear a lot of German, even more than I did so far here in Germany, and I'm gonna be "the girlfriend from Israel"... I already met about 4 of his cousins, and they were super nice. So I still have hope to have fun this weekend... lol... I volunteered to be the photographer of the occasion- hope I get to take as many pictures of the ppl running as possible...
and now:
some thoughts.
well. I was watching the half finale of the Eurovision contest (until I was too bored with the poor quality of the songs) online (the internet is the best invention ever!), and a few thoughts popped out in my head. Especially the language issue. I used to love this contest when I was young, used to wait for it every year, maybe because it was a contest with Europe that Israel was a part of, maybe because I was allowed to stay up until it's over (which was really late for what I was usually allowed) and maybe because I like music (but that couldn't be a reason coz the music there was never my taste really). But I think that the main reason was the intentionality of the contest, and above it all- all the different languages I could hear. It was an introduction to other cultures and other languages- served on a silver plate. You didn't have to open the encyclopedia (back then we used real books- there was no internet and no Wikipedia!), you didn't have to ask a million questions when your cousin came back from abroad- you just had to turn your TV on once a year for a couple of hours and watch this contest. They even used to show short flicks about each country and their views and customs. But today it's all different. Today most of the countries send pop songs that all sound the same, they sing mostly in English- and if it's a good song it's nice- coz then I understand the lyrics, but if it's a bad one- it's terrible, for example: "You don't know how much I love you, you don't know how much I need you" in bad eastern European accent, they dress up really badly (or should I say dress down? they hardly wear anything on their bodies!) and they mix different cultures in one song- which usually I'm really not against culture mixing, I mean- just look at me and Rob and you'll say the opposite, but god, when a song starts with a man dressed in a 1001 nights costume, and plays the violin, and then another man dressed the same is banging a gong that looks Chinese and has a Chinese character on it, and then the singer (from Malta) sings in English- I say enough!
So the contests these years are a bit dull (if not very), un-educating in the cultural manner (which was the whole point) and generally lost it's flare...
But a habit is a habit- and it's hard to kick a habit- so I watched the half finale a bit, and hopefully the Israelis will make it to the finals...
Hope to write again soon, I'm not sure when I'll have time, there's a good chance it'll already be in Israel!
update- coz it's not gonna be very long... Tonight is my last night in this apartment (I should be saying my apartment, or maybe I should even say: our apartment) before I go back to Israel. Tomorrow we're going to Rob's parents' for the weekend and my flight back is on Sunday night. We're gonna meet about 15 members of his family- all gonna stay at his parents' house (yes, it's gonna be like camp or something). They are all coming for a special occasion called "Landkreislauf"= the Landkreis (= district) race. Every year there's a relay race in that region, there's usually about 200 groups, each has 11 runners. The big prize is winning the race, and everyone gets a T-shirt of that year (every year it's a different color...). This year Rob's family decided to celebrate his grandma's 85 birthday in a special way: 11 of her 19 grand kids are gonna form into a group and run for her in the race. They even got matching T-shirts with "85" in the front, and in the back it says: "Elfriedes Enkel" = meaning "Elfriede's grandchildren". I specifically wanted to see this race- and that's one of the reasons I stayed in Germany until now... They are all coming from Austria except for Rob, his sister and brother and one cousin. I already know I'm gonna hear a lot of German, even more than I did so far here in Germany, and I'm gonna be "the girlfriend from Israel"... I already met about 4 of his cousins, and they were super nice. So I still have hope to have fun this weekend... lol... I volunteered to be the photographer of the occasion- hope I get to take as many pictures of the ppl running as possible...
and now:
some thoughts.
well. I was watching the half finale of the Eurovision contest (until I was too bored with the poor quality of the songs) online (the internet is the best invention ever!), and a few thoughts popped out in my head. Especially the language issue. I used to love this contest when I was young, used to wait for it every year, maybe because it was a contest with Europe that Israel was a part of, maybe because I was allowed to stay up until it's over (which was really late for what I was usually allowed) and maybe because I like music (but that couldn't be a reason coz the music there was never my taste really). But I think that the main reason was the intentionality of the contest, and above it all- all the different languages I could hear. It was an introduction to other cultures and other languages- served on a silver plate. You didn't have to open the encyclopedia (back then we used real books- there was no internet and no Wikipedia!), you didn't have to ask a million questions when your cousin came back from abroad- you just had to turn your TV on once a year for a couple of hours and watch this contest. They even used to show short flicks about each country and their views and customs. But today it's all different. Today most of the countries send pop songs that all sound the same, they sing mostly in English- and if it's a good song it's nice- coz then I understand the lyrics, but if it's a bad one- it's terrible, for example: "You don't know how much I love you, you don't know how much I need you" in bad eastern European accent, they dress up really badly (or should I say dress down? they hardly wear anything on their bodies!) and they mix different cultures in one song- which usually I'm really not against culture mixing, I mean- just look at me and Rob and you'll say the opposite, but god, when a song starts with a man dressed in a 1001 nights costume, and plays the violin, and then another man dressed the same is banging a gong that looks Chinese and has a Chinese character on it, and then the singer (from Malta) sings in English- I say enough!
So the contests these years are a bit dull (if not very), un-educating in the cultural manner (which was the whole point) and generally lost it's flare...
But a habit is a habit- and it's hard to kick a habit- so I watched the half finale a bit, and hopefully the Israelis will make it to the finals...
Hope to write again soon, I'm not sure when I'll have time, there's a good chance it'll already be in Israel!
Friday, January 05, 2007
Priorities
In the 8th grade, when I was 14, I attended a week of communication workshops from school. Not everyone went- it was our choice to apply- and after the school selected the ones that will actually go- we were off to a campus in our city- for a week. We slept there and had workshops every morning, enjoying our almost freedom from the parents for about 5 days. The special thing about this week was that it mixed Jewish high schools with Arab high schools. It was a week about communications - meaning the media- TV, radio, newspaper (I was in the newspaper group) etc. But it also was, between the lines, about communication between ppl. I made some really good friends there - some from my school some from the Arab school - and kept in touch with some of them for a few years.
I especially remember the 1st activity we had- which was suppose to get us to know each other better. I've been to hundreds of these activities in my life, especially coz I was in the Scouts for about 6 years, sometimes I even gave these activities myself, and even though there was nothing special about this 1st knowing each other activity- I remember it very well till today (which is surprising coz my memory is really bad). What I most remember is this one game where you're suppose to define yourself according to the following characteristics: gender, nationality, religion and any quality or other characteristic you think you have. I've done this activity a lot of times- you're suppose to grade the characteristics according to what you believe defines you most. I think that the reason I remember this specific time that I participated in it- is because this time there were a lot more ppl in the group that were different than me in those characteristics. This time we were not all Jewish, Israeli boys and girls. I usually define myself as a Human being first and foremost, then as a woman (in those days it was "a girl") than I list some qualities of mine, then I say Israeli and then Jewish (I think Israeli was right after "a woman" when I was a teenager- that had changed over the years- even though it's still a strong characteristic of mine). It's pretty interesting to hear what other ppl say- especially if they come from different backgrounds. They're explanations why they listed it the way they did is even more interesting...
I remember that in that week- even though I always thought in that same point of view- I understood how difficult it is to live somewhere where you don't feel comfortable using that country's nationality as your own. It only hit me when I noticed that most of the Arab kids either didn't say "Israeli" at all or only as the last on their list. I immediately understood why they did that- I had no doubts about it- but before that- it had never crossed my mind.
The reason I thought about it now was coz it seems like in the next few years I'm not gonna be a permanent resident of my own country. Not gonna be at the place that gives me a part of my identity. I don't feel bad about it- I try to look at it as a good experience for me- but I couldn't help think about those kids that were born somewhere and don't feel like they can actually say they belong there. It made me sad for them, not in a pitiful kind of way though. I think the fact that "Israeli" will always come in my list before my religion - made me think that they don't have a lot of a choice if they don't wanna put their religion in one of the first places, and that made me feel like someone - or something took that choice away from them.
It's very common that ppl get closer to their religion when they're abroad- especially if they are the ones that decided to leave their country. Their kids usually don't understand why they have to keep to certain far fetched rules, and rebel.
I especially remember the 1st activity we had- which was suppose to get us to know each other better. I've been to hundreds of these activities in my life, especially coz I was in the Scouts for about 6 years, sometimes I even gave these activities myself, and even though there was nothing special about this 1st knowing each other activity- I remember it very well till today (which is surprising coz my memory is really bad). What I most remember is this one game where you're suppose to define yourself according to the following characteristics: gender, nationality, religion and any quality or other characteristic you think you have. I've done this activity a lot of times- you're suppose to grade the characteristics according to what you believe defines you most. I think that the reason I remember this specific time that I participated in it- is because this time there were a lot more ppl in the group that were different than me in those characteristics. This time we were not all Jewish, Israeli boys and girls. I usually define myself as a Human being first and foremost, then as a woman (in those days it was "a girl") than I list some qualities of mine, then I say Israeli and then Jewish (I think Israeli was right after "a woman" when I was a teenager- that had changed over the years- even though it's still a strong characteristic of mine). It's pretty interesting to hear what other ppl say- especially if they come from different backgrounds. They're explanations why they listed it the way they did is even more interesting...
I remember that in that week- even though I always thought in that same point of view- I understood how difficult it is to live somewhere where you don't feel comfortable using that country's nationality as your own. It only hit me when I noticed that most of the Arab kids either didn't say "Israeli" at all or only as the last on their list. I immediately understood why they did that- I had no doubts about it- but before that- it had never crossed my mind.
The reason I thought about it now was coz it seems like in the next few years I'm not gonna be a permanent resident of my own country. Not gonna be at the place that gives me a part of my identity. I don't feel bad about it- I try to look at it as a good experience for me- but I couldn't help think about those kids that were born somewhere and don't feel like they can actually say they belong there. It made me sad for them, not in a pitiful kind of way though. I think the fact that "Israeli" will always come in my list before my religion - made me think that they don't have a lot of a choice if they don't wanna put their religion in one of the first places, and that made me feel like someone - or something took that choice away from them.
It's very common that ppl get closer to their religion when they're abroad- especially if they are the ones that decided to leave their country. Their kids usually don't understand why they have to keep to certain far fetched rules, and rebel.
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