Here's the hair dryer, good luck.

Has anyone had to dry their own hair at the hair dressers....? 

After getting my hair dyed, I usually have the option of them blow drying it out into something boofy (at a cost), or they just quickly dry it so I can get home without catching a cold (free). Here, they give you the option of them drying your hair, or you 'DIY'. But here is the weird part, the price didn't change….

First time I took option A, second time I went with option B. I have to admit, felt rather strange standing in front of a giant mirror in a shop front onto the street drying my hair - something usually done alone and in the privacy of your own house. Nothing technically private about it, but strange when people walking past are actually watching you do it! 

Anyone else experienced this in any other countries?

Anyway, here is a pic of us (pre-hair dying!) at our local cocktail place that puts enough garnishes on their drinks it takes about 5 mins to remove/eat the toppings before you even get to drink the drink.

Did I miss the Pizza Hut / KFC merger?

We decided to be bad and have pizza last night - from Pizza Hut. We ordered pizza and for desert a chocolate cookie with ice-cream. We got it to take away. 

I was a little confused when they gave us the packaging. The pizza came in a pizza hut box, but the ice cream tub had a picture of the KFC colonel on it…. Huh???

PS. for those of you who know me well, yes, I had the ice cream for breakfast the next day instead of for desert at night!

Comfort will turn you soft

On a recent trip to Frankfurt to do a little work, I was reminded about how hard the beds are here! When I first moved here I remarked that it was a little like in the traditional houses of thailand (without the heat) where the beds were so hard you might as well just put a pillow on the floor and be just as comfortable there. The hotel I was in had these same type beds and you just can't avoid waking up 16 times through the night with dead arms or legs… getting rid of pins and needles at 3 in the morning is truly not fun.

Thankfully we solved this problem in our home. After some time on trying to get used to a hard bed in Germany, developing a painful back, we invested in a memory foam overlay thing 7 inches thick and heavy as the whole bed itself. The positive side was that I've never felt more comfortable in my own bed (where I'm writing this now, its just so comfy!) but the down side is, I never want to sleep anywhere else, ever again!

Below is the night view of Frankfurt from my room which partially made up for painful sleep, reminded me of times when I lived in the city…. ahhh, I am a city girl at heart.

Fireworks night

In a nutshell, in 1689, 1693 and 1764, Heidelberg had a big fire and the castle caught on fire. These days in summer, they 'celebrate' this event by replicating the castle being on fire (with I think actually 200 real fires lit within the castle that you see in the many windows ) and then set the bridge off with fireworks. This happens 3 times over summer.

Below were some of the shots we took whilst waiting for the fireworks and getting exceptionally toasted on white wine. The castle being prepared to be burned is behind the fiancé in the pictures.

(Note: that classy sports bike water bottle was where we drank said wine out of....)

Working out how it all works to work

So as it turns out, and no surprises here, working in Germany without speaking German ain't an easy task! Much to my previous fairytale understanding (given to me by others, not fabricated in my head) that I might be able to get work here easily in my usual line of work, it doesn't seem so much to be the case. Just to disclaimer, I respect that without the language, getting work here is hard. I wouldn't expect anything less in my country, so let me make that very clear.

What I have found interesting is the requirements and relationships that germany have with the workforce.

Requirements:

Germans love their titles (or letters after their names). My interest in forming a 'title' after my name with University vanished when I found out I could earn more money at 18 than doing the degree I got into and would spend 3 years of my life slaving away for and then probably spend another 15 years paying it all off. Not the case in Germany as Uni is free (well, almost, now its €500 a semester - which is very cheap in comparison to other countries), the obsession with finishing a degree is paramount to getting a job here and being respected.

Relationships:

Then once in a job, the work place remains exactly that - work only. People remain completely neutral with each other. Friendships form slowly and professionally, but often do not break away from the conforms of the office walls. Those who have broken the conforms never wish to move job as they fear they may never find these relationships again.

Friday Drinkies:

After work drinks on a Friday to get smashed with colleagues before heading home to respective partners (tradition in Australia, Canada & UK) doesn't seem to be so common, if at all.

So having way less qualifications than Germany requires to work, and my personality having a tad to much social-ness than Germany would ever warrant or require, it seems my ability to pick up work of the 'normal' nature will not happen. I'm currently working as an English teacher, surprisingly enjoying it, yet does not fill that gap in my career path.

Here is me in my usual teaching attire (oh yes, hair up, glasses on, little-to-no makeup or jewellery on, in true form to my transformation into looking like a german) visiting a nazi memorial site after work. 

It says its a memorial to all people in the world who lost their lives in war, but the only names, graves and plaques at the site seem to be from soldiers from germany who lost their lives in the WW2… I probably need to find some information in english on this place...

Channelling my inner Bogan*

*see Bogan meaning comparisons at the bottom of this posting

Turns out, over here they also have their inner bogan. Its harder to see under the cold coats of winter, but now spring is here, boy are they letting loose. 

Even the homeless are acting more… well, homeless! Drunken rages and yelling, smelling pungently stronger and smashing their beer bottles wherever they can (unless they can get a refund on the bottle, and therefore this is not in their best interest). mmmm, makes me miss Vancouver….

The fiance and I decided to break out the bogan spirit by participating in what all the locals seem to do - drink in public. Any time of the day, crack open a can of beer, sit at a bus stop or go for a wander down the street. So one warmish afternoon on the way back from the supermarket, we participated in this right of passage in being German. Whilst on our 'bogan 1 can of beer' wander home, I stumbled across the quintessential bogan shop (pictured below). Selling guns… with roses sticking out the top! Oh the romance of it all…

Then to top it all off in the spirit of true bogan-ism, I managed to chip my front tooth on a fork giving me that classy trailer park bogan look (till I got it fixed today). In this instance, obviously my inner bogan wanted to break out and fit in with the crowd.

With my manky tooth, daggy dressing (sorry germany, fashion is not your calling), glasses wearing (contacts too expensive) and my newly acquired 'don't talk to me' facial expressions, I'm looking more german every day - and some days even of the bogan kind!

Here are some other lovely words that may help you understand the term Bogan laid out by wikipedia.

• Ocker
• Pikey, (UK)
• White Trash (United States and Canada)
• Redneck (United States and Canada)
• Guido (United States)
• Hoser (Canada)
• Skid (United States and Canada)
• Westie (Australia & NZ)
• Feral (Australia)
• Chav (UK)
• Ned (Scotland)
• Jejemon (Philippines)
• Scanger (Ireland)
• Ah Beng (Singapore/Malaysia)
• Raggare (Sweden)
• Dres (Poland)
• Yobbo
• Lumpenproletariat (Russia)

Flying the Ice Cube

This is an old pic, but thought for those of you (mainly Australians) who never had to deal with the thought that an aeroplane can get so cold in an airport it gets incased in a giant layer of ice… here is a pic below on how the get rid of the ice. 

Take a look-a-like fire truck with a long armed hose on the top of a ladder and blast chemical water out of it whilst refuelling at the airport! What an effort!!….