Des isch jo arg schee!!

For those of you just learning German:

,,Am Zieschdig hat se die Bolle blotze losse" (Am Dienstag hat sie den Eiskugel fallen lassen) und ,,ebbe ist fudsch" (etwas ist kaputt) und ,,wolle sie ne Gutsele schlozze? (wollen sie ein Bonbon lutschen), ,,Pfiefedeggel" (pech gehabt)

Dialects are alive and well in Germany, and this one's called Badisch, spoken in the bottom left corner of Germany--the bit they always fought over with the French. I imagine it's orthographically written the same as high german, with different pronounciations. ':, -le' is added frequently to nouns, such that Apfel - Äpfle, Laden - Lädle, Schloss - Schlössle. The final -n on verbs also left out, such that gehen - gehe, lernen - lerne. Lern Badisch!

UPDATE: I stand corrected.... it's not the Badner, it's the Swabians who are the only ones apparently capable of making Spätzle. I mis-remembered what my roommate said (she was from Karlsruhe, which would make her Badnerin [?]). As for the translation for Bolle, I hold no responsibity and instead would refer you to the link above, where I got that from. As I am neither a) Badisch-sprecherin nor b) German at all, I have no compunctions in ein linguistisches Fettnäpfchen zu treten. Bonne soiree!

Apparently only the Badner can make Spätzle (noodles--you may know them; the word is a Badische variant of Spatzen, sparrow: Spatzen - Spätzle). It involves scraping strips of dough into boiling water, but only one 'ethnic' group is apparently capable of it. With extreme apologies to my former roommate, who was Badnerin.

I met someone who grew up in a Kaff around Freiburg, and for him it was easier to speak English than High German. In general, people who speak Dialekt tend to be regarded as less educated, as the universities teach in High German and the newscasts as well. I had a professor who spoke in a moderated version of Dialect, more of an Akzent than a Dialekt. I suppose if it were English I would consider it Texan or Cockney, so I was surprised to hear him speak super-posh Oxford English once.

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In other news, this is what I do if I am tired of working on my thesis:







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I've been here for almost six months. CrAzY! And I'll be gone in another four. Insane. In a non-sociopath kind of way. It's strange to think of how many people I know here whom I will never see again. Then again, with the internet nowadays it's easier to hang on to people than it is to hang onto ten bucks, particularly if you're hungry. At the moment, I have as good as no idea where I will end up next year. Somewhere on the other side of the pond. One dreary semester and one honors thesis to go (enter self-pity here).

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As usual, I have fallen in love with a perfect stranger, whose name I don't know and whom I am unlikely to ever see again (je parle francais...). And who probably has a girlfriend, to compound my impeccible good fortune, grr. Pech gehabt. Ah well, it's probably a bad idea to get attached to anyone anyways, seeing as how I'm leaving soon. Let's see how well reason prevails :)

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My desk has become a curious collection of rubber bands, small note papers, gum wrappers, plastic forks, and ziplock baggies. Cleaning my desk is probably the most satisfying thing I've done all weekend. Definitely not the most fun, but the most satisfying. And I have no idea where the zipock baggies came from.

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It's possible to bake an apple pie in a bowl. I did, and it was yummy, and already gone even though I just made it on saturday.

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Get cape. Wear cape. Fly is really cool. And I need to go to more concerts, before I move somewhere where they don't really have 'em.