How to be German

I sometimes follow, and now have added to the bloglist (at the top right of this page) a blog called "German Joys." A large part of our daily conversation is the cultural differences that we notice between Americans and Germans. The blogger of German Joys is, I think, some kind of professor in Berlin. Here is an excerpt from his recent post on his evaluation of the degree of cultural integration of a Ghanian cab driver he recently encountered on holiday in Duesseldorf:

A case in point is the cab driver who took me back from the airport after a holiday visit. I fly into Duesseldorf, and to my delight, I find that it's well below freezing, and there's virginal snow everywhere. But that's exactly what's pissing off Joseph, my tall Ghanaian cabdriver. "I hate the snow," he explains in excellent German. "You clean your car, and then 5 minutes after you start driving, it's completely covered in dirt again." On the successful-integration scale, score that +7 for bitching, +5 for daily car maintenance.

But Joseph wasn't done bitching -- not by a long shot! Further targets included "morons" who don't know how to drive in the cold, and "blind" tram drivers who cut you off without even realizing it. Score +10 for yet more bitching. But then he worked himself into a real lather reminding himself of something that happened at breakfast, taken in the form of a sausage on a roll eaten at a roadside stand (+3). A car drove by and "purposely swerved into a puddle, just to cover me in dirty water!" At this point, Joseph became truly outraged: "Imagine that! He went out of his way just to splash me! What is this world coming to?"

But then Joseph did something that, however delightful, dented his integration score: He literally raised his fist and began shaking it, repeating over and over: "May God punish him! May God punish that man!" My analysis: cursing general depravity of fellow citizens, general decay of public morals: +5, but shaking fist: -5, apparent belief in Supreme Being: -5, and mentioning same to stranger: -5.

Oh well, I say we let him stay anyway.

Könneritzstraße Bridge

The really great thing about Leipzig, as I've probably mentioned in previous posts, is beauty in abundance within a short walk from anywhere. The photos in the embedded slideshow are from the Koenneritzstrasse bridge, just 2 or 3 hundred meters from our apartment complex.



The pretty Mandarin ducks have just recently joined the swan, the mallards, and the ginourmous muskrats that we see and occassionally feed with stale bread from the bridge.

Working

November has been very difficult at work. A corner has been turned however and it should be easier from here. The last few weekends one or another kid is either at a friend's house for a sleepover or someone comes here. This weekend Julian spent Friday and Saturday night at his friend Max's house and the girls had the two friends in the picture over Friday night for a sleepover.

Diana and I escaped Friday night for a nice dinner at a nearby Greek restaurant. We continue to love our new flat; it's a lot more comfortable than the old one. Got in a little nap today and now time for the next work-week to begin. We're all looking forward for our two week holiday over Christmas.

Das Wochenende (The Weekend)

The girls dispersed here and there for the weekend. Actually Anissa and her friend Natalie spent Friday night and Saturday here at the new apartment and Sierra went to a friend's house by tram and train. We didn't have time for a full photo shoot but here are a few of Anissa and Natalie - they want me to do a real shoot sometime in the future.

Der Verfall (The Decay)

Here's another excellent video by You Tube user Plembem that shows some of the deteriorated side of Leipzig.

Leipzig has been known at times as "The Little Paris" and the part of town we reside in sometimes called "A little piece of Venice" - complete with Gondola canal boats. Clearly the city has extraordinary beauty and is in overall resurgence. But this video shows some of the work that remains.

Be sure to "Leipzig bei Nacht" below this post to see the resurgent side of Leipzig.

Leipzig bei Nacht (Leipzig at Night)

Here's a sweet little video I found on YouTube that gives you the opportunity to do a virtual night tour of Leipzig. Credit is to the You Tube user "Plembem" for this video.

Our Friends in Wolfen

From the first time I ate at Wolfen's finest Asian restaraunt by myself on a Saturday afternoon sometime last spring, I felt at home and welcomed. I can tell many stories about many wonderful meal - and drinks - at the Asian restaurant on Leipziger Strasse in downtown Wolfen. Last Monday, since the kids were off school, they took the train and met me to accept a dinner invitation from our friends Zum, She and Ming.



Here is the note I sent to Zum afterwards:

Thanks so much for the wonderful meal we had last week. We will have you over for a Mexican feast after we move into our new flat in November. For now, please have a look at our blog and the photo of our two families here: http://bohlandfamilyinleipzig.blogspot.com/

Your hospitality means so much to us Zum and we are so glad to know you and have you as friends. I have so many fine memories eating at your fine Asian restaurant in Wolfen.

Best,

John