Hi! Today Pika, Mom, and I met up with Kara downtown after she was done with school. Can I just say that I love shopping in Europe! While the warm weather delicately lingers, food stands, clothes sales racks, and other street vendors selling any goods you can imagine, flower the streets, along with accordion players. Kara and I bought a gorgeous skirt, a scarf, and some awesome print tights- I had no idea there was such a variety of colors and patterns of tights in the universe. For lunch we grabbed some bratwurst und broetchen, while Mom ordered some "Wonton Suppe" from the German-ized Vietnamese food stand all by herself. Kara and I also discovered the "Charlotte Russe" equivalent here- cheap, trendy clothing with dance music and all :)
We also visited the local landmark of the Gaenselisl ("goose girl") fountain (see picture below). The local tradition is for all newly graduated PhD students to kiss the cheek of the goose girl statue. Gottingen is a very intellectual center in Germany because of the very old and prestigious university. In fact, Heidelberg and Gottingen are the two intellectual hearts of Germany that England had an agreement with Germany during WWII that they would not bomb if Germany wouldn't bomb Cambridge or Oxford. Because of this, Gottingen has several buildings dating back to the 1300's.
When we got home, Kara and I turned on the TV and were reassured in our realization of how obsessed Germans are with American politics when the first 3 channels we flipped through had Sarah Palin, Bush, and Obama on respectively. Kara asked a classmate why this is and she replied that U.S. politics affect them more so than probably any other country, besides their own. She then proceeded to ask Kara if she even knew, as an American, who the German Chancellor was. Kara thankfully could answer her correctly, though I wouldn't have been able to... Kara's classmates have a whole class devoted to politics, where they spend most of their time discussing American politics. This is probably why Kara was bombarded with questions like " Who would you vote for if you were old enough" or "You would vote for Obama, right?" when she first got to her school, or by anyone she meets who finds out she is American.
For Abendessen (light evening meal), Pika had gone to the day-old bakery and purchased a cornucopia of Kuechen (pastry-like cake), ranging from raspberry to rhubarb to a lime-cheesecake-tasting one. They were all delicious and surprisingly light- everything is less sweet here it seems.
Well, I will sign out for the day, but I love and miss you all at home with a "veritable cornucopia of sincerities" (thanks for that one, Michael- it is my favorite phrase you have ever said to me).
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5 comments:
whoa those are some tight pants you have on! Looks pretty cool out there though, glad you are having fun!
So what does Kara say? "Obama" to keep the peace, or "McCain" and how do they respond to the later. That was one thing that made me crazy about Europeans while on my misison: their hate for Bush and their obsession with Clinton. Gag. Sorry. He's a Child of God too. I'm glad you had fun shopping. It sounds like you are really having the time of your life--or as much as possible away from Michael, right? Bussi! Bussi!
Keep the pictures coming! definitely love those! Love you!
Oh yeah, and I challenge you to write a complete post auf Deutsch :) You know you can do it! Make it a work in progress ;) don't worry you can get me back when I'm trying to learn lithuanian.
Fascinating blog....keep it up!! You are a good writer! I love the clothes in Germany -- can I put an order in for some good shoes??? Keep your eye out for a neat German calendar to remind me of my home away from home! Miss you Em. Give your Mom and Kara kisses.
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