German Beer: Nectar of the Gods

I had my first German beer at lunch today. I don’t think I’ll require water anymore, thank you very much.

It will come as no surprise to most of you that 45 minutes of shopping downtown resulted in the purchase of a new pair of snowpants and several chocolate bars. I would have dropped another 200 euros had I had time to do more than window-shopping at the department store. I am going to get into soooooo much trouble down there. I haven’t even seen Ikea yet! Sad news: I’ve heard there’s a Super Walmart down the street from Ikea. I thought I was going to get away from that sort of thing, ick.

Just a little advice for you kiddies out there: it’s not a good idea to try to learn two languages at once. Obviously I’m trying to learn some German, but I thought it would be fun to brush up on my French. What can I say: reading Harry Potter À L’École Des Sorciers is a very entertaining way to practice French. English doesn’t have cool words like Soufpouffle to amuse me. Pretty soon I think I might be speaking my own little language. I think I’ll call is Frengleutsch or Engdeucais.

Curling – this is quite possibly my favorite sport now. Here is a brief synopsis for those who aren’t familiar with it: you shove a rock down a sheet of ice aiming to be the closest to a target while using little brooms to guide the rock’s speed. Best. Sport. Ever. Not really, but it’s funny to watch guys sliding down ice chasing after a rock with some brooms. Plus, let’s face it: it’s probably the easiest sport to get onto the US Olympic team. If I get three volunteers, we’ll go ahead and try to make it to Vancouver. HA.

The army boy/office discussion will have to wait until another day. I'm tired from all this walking and schnitzel. :)

Welcome to Germany...

My first thoughts on arriving in Germany (remember, I was sleep deprived at the time): Are those people smoking in the airport!? And did that dog just pee right in front of the baggage claim?!

WARNING: These paragraphs are in no way tied together. Read at your own literary peril.

In response to certain other blogs: no, I'm not dead. I just haven'’t had a chance to crank out a quality blog since my arrival in Germany. Who knew they had Internet here? j/k (Author's note: this remark was written before I was unable to get on the web for two days. Ah, the irony.) I knew that once the Olympics were over I'd have plenty of time to dedicate to blogging, so why peak too soon? I'm sure the European Olympics experience will make it into a blog if I don’t get too lazy. It's not like I have a lot going on at the moment. No car, possessions, friends, or cell phone make Tara a lame girl! (But only briefly until I get my car and hooker out a lil bit.) :)

Have I mentioned how much I miss Scarlett? Not that I would be able to drive her anyway. I'm currently not licensed to operate a motorized vehicle here. It'’s probably better that way. I can't wait until I can tell my mom that I hit 125 on the autobahn. When she wakes up from passing out, I will then inform her that it'’s 125 kph, which is only around 75 mph. I'’m sure that's going to be a good joke. One that I will use at least 15 times more than is reasonable.

Lisa and Christine: I sincerely apologize for my lack of memory. Your list of stupid things that you relate to me is truly impressive. I don’t think I could come up with such an accurate list. I’ll go ahead and blame the alcohol. (Not that I‚’ve ever had any of that, Mom.) I would, however, love to elaborate on each of your examples. I feel that many of them deserve a rebuttal from me, but let‚’s face it: I‚’m too lazy and most of those stories should not be revealed to the public (like what I did my last night in the States, thank you Trisha.) :)

I‚’ve been asked four times already if I know what my last name means in German. Despite what Lisa‚ may tell you, it‚’s not ‚‘whore‚’. I had thought cabbage was accurate enough until someone gave me the real description. I have real pride in my Wirsing ancestors who thought it was a good idea to name themselves after ‚“a dish of cabbage from Bavaria that looks like grass clippings and tastes like shit‚” when THEY COULD HAVE MADE UP ANYTHING WHEN THEY HOPPED OFF THE BOAT!! Wha?! But really I‚’ve heard it‚’s a delicacy in Bavaria. This is just like someone leaving Alabama with the name Grits. Maybe getting married isn‚’t a bad idea just to change my name. It‚’s just a thought. ;) Or I could have my name legally changed to Maxine 'Max' Power.

I don’t really feel like I‚’ve left… Perhaps it‚’s all the Americans running around or the lack of a tourist passport. I‚’m not quite sure. And if I don‚’t get more comments on this post than the Harry Potter blog, I‚’m quitting altogether. :)

On the next Tara Takes Europe, I‚’ll discuss my office (and its lack of flair), curling, and theories on why I‚’ll never be able to catch a good army boy.

The Man in Action!

Good news: I got my official passport! Of course this was at 2:30 on the last working day before I leave, but that's cool. It made it. (Again I don't think my sarcasm is evident online.) Bad news: the State Department lost my personal passport. They mailed in to one of four addresses, but they can't tell me which one. They don't have a tracking system and they use a different address each time. I love the consistency. That makes me feel good about my odds of getting it eventually. That's okay though. I really look forward to the judging that will happen anytime I use my gov passport with any foreigners. You know they love us. They just hide it deep down inside. :)