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| Uni-Rostock Mensa |
I have a friend named
Elizabeth. She's from Medellin, Colombia, and we have lunch together
twice a week because that's part of our Tandem agreement.
In Germany, there's an idea that everyone
understands called "Tandem." Think of it like two-way
bartering. One person has something the other one wants, and so does the
other person. So, you trade. In our case, I know how to speak English
and Elizabeth knows Spanish. She needs to practice English and I need to
practice Spanish. And so a Tandem was born.
We went to the Mensa today, which is a
university cafeteria. We had mashed potatoes (pude de papas/Kartoffelpüree), pork (carne de cerdo, Schweinefleisch), and vegetables (verduras/Gemüse).
We talked about food and vacations and weather, todo auf Spanisch.
Tandem is totally
messing up my head. I can't
help but throw in German words between Spanish words. Ich habe una
problema. The most repeated offenses today went something like, "Ja!
Yes! Sí!" or "aberrrrr...I mean pero!"
Elizabeth gets it though. And we can
generally understand each other no matter what. Understanding is always
way easier than speaking. So we get weird
looks when we walk down the street, her speaking Spanish and me answering in
English. And then we laugh and say, "Alles gut!"
And
did you know that Elizabeth's
boyfriend is on a championship Water Rugby team?! Did you even know that
was a thing?!
It is!!!
You can break
your leg and drown at the same time! Fun! I'll
have to ask her at our next Tandem about how you can spectate that sort of
thing. And how do the refs ref? Are there underwater sonar whistles
(Unterwasser-Pfeifen/silbatos bajo de agua)?! Do you know?! I need to know.
Also, this is the biggest cookie sheet I can find here! Das ist a problema también!
Okay, so this is really really cool, and I'm jealous that you have a tandem arrangement with a Spanish speaker (I would love that). But why not a German speaker who needs to learn English? Why Spanish now, and not in like, two years?
ReplyDeleteDani: I totally have that arrangement too. I have about 5 of them so far actually. They all attacked me at church. But I haven't figured out how to find the time to do them all (2 hours times 5 people, each week...hmmm). We're still working out a schedule.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Spanish just because Elizabeth is in my German class and I thought it would be fun to actually pratice Spanish with a native speaker since I never really had a chance to do that in the US (ironically).
I LOVE reading your posts! You are so animated, even in your writing and I LOVE it! Brought a smile to my face when I needed it; thank you!
ReplyDeleteIt's horrible that the cookie sheets are so small. Are they the size to fit in your oven, or do you have the same size ovens as we have? (which shows how much I know...) :)
Heyyyy Laura! I think the oven might be a liiiiittle bit smaller than American ovens, but not that much. A regular sheet should totally fit. I think the problem might be that cookie sheets aren't really "a thing" here...so it's hard to find anything like it. The one I bought actually is more like a shallow brownie pan, since it has a pretty high rim. But, it was the shallowest pan I could find!
ReplyDeleteI was asked to join the Michigan State underwater hockey team. It is played with a lead puck and snorkel gear.
ReplyDeleteChristina: Elizabeth told me about underwater hockey and I totally didn't believe her! But, you are the second witness, so I guess it's true. (Also, it's rad you were invited to do something like that!)
ReplyDeleteGotta love those Colombians -- I know that I do. Here is a little surprise. Remember to do Noche de Velitas (Faroles, Luces) on the 7th with her. She will be really surprised that you know what that is :) Just a reminder from last year:
ReplyDeletehttp://raisingcolombiankids.blogspot.com/2011/01/our-colombian-holiday-successes.html
M~ Hey! Thanks! I'll try my best to remember!
ReplyDelete