New Year's Eve in Cottbus

The Cottbuser folk put on a wonderful fireworks show on New Year's Eve at midnight. I took this video from my living room.

Branitzer Park

Branitzer Park is just about the only sightseeing location in Cottbus and I told myself yesterday that I was going to visit it.

Fuerst Pueckler (Prince Pueckler) landscaped Branitz Park back in the 1800s. It's a decent sized park with open fields, patches of trees, forest, and some streams.

I realized that the park probably wouldn't be very pretty in the winter when the grass is dead and there's no leaves on the trees. But, I thought that perhaps I could visit once in winter and then again in summer to compare its appearance between seasons.

Winter sunlight hours are short, especially when you get up late. By the time I set out for the park the sunlight was already dimming, but once I commit myself to something I don't give up easily, so I continued to my destination.

My decision to view the park in the dark turned out to be for the best. Whereas I was expecting to see a drab landscape, the moon was big and full providing a wonderful glow and beautiful shadows. The mansion of Fuerst Pueckler took on an impressive presence in the landscape in its lit-up state.

And now to address my mother's concerns of me being out alone in a dark park. I assure you that there are occupied homes on the property, I passed by other joggers and dog walkers, and most of all, it's your fault that I have the courage to wander around in a park at night in the freezing cold winter weather. You always assured me when I was afraid that there is a super low chance that someone is going to be waiting out there in the dark, freezing cold just to prey upon me.

Fireworks (ie little bombs)

I am used to hearing random small explosions in the month of July around Independence Day, but Germany instead fills the end of December with fireworks in celebration of New Year's. And while the people in Detroit typically either infrequently or all at once set off fireworks, the Germans have been enjoying setting the dang things off with frequent frequency. And these fireworks are loud too. Sometimes I even see the glow of the explosion shoot up from behind a building or outside my window. I don't like it.

Firework shows can be really cool with all the different shapes and loud booming coming all at once. But I am not prepared for all of these little private explosions and do not get to enjoy a colorful view after getting my heart boomed. I simply can't imagine what it must be like for the old people here who lived through WWII because if it were me these random explosions would remind me of my world getting slowly blown apart by Nazis and Allies.

Weihnachtsmarkt Berlin

My apartmentmate Steffi invited me up to Berlin on Monday to visit a couple of Weihnachtsmarkts with her and her friends. Steffi is a native of Berlin, so it is her home playground. I decided that if I was going up to Berlin (a 2-hour trip), then I would make a full day of it and visit a couple of museums.

I first paid a visit to the Kaethe Koellwitz Museum because I did a presentation in German a few years ago on this turn of the century artist (19 to 20th century). I like her work and in the museum I additionally learned a little bit more about her technique and motivations for various projects.

Second stop was a museum called The Story of Berlin which covers the 800 year history of Berlin. I concentrated my education on the early history of the city since I knew my general German history but was curious how Berlin in particular fit into the picture.

With Steffi and her friends we visited a couple of Christmas markets which surround Der Fernseh Turm at Alexander Platz (the TV Tower at Alexander Place). Everything was on a bigger scale than in Cottbus, but still the same concept of fair rides, tasty treats, and lots of people. My highlights were trying a delicious donut-like food and riding the ferris wheel high above the city (this time in a closed-in box, thankfully).

View of the second market from the top of the ferris wheel at the other market



There were sheep and a donkey!



That's a water-fountain statue of Neptune lit up with blue lights while people ice skate around on his frozen fountain water.

German Vocabulary for Americans

I've been collecting German words lately. The words fall into three categories: 1)German = English 2) German ~ English 3) Same spelling, but different meaning. The point of these lists is to show the close relation between German and English. Sadly, most of the words which fall into category one are words which have been adopted into German from English, although a friend argued a while back that the German language was simply "taking back" its words. I'm most amused by category three because they can cause confusion in the mind ("am I thinking/speaking English or German?").

Enjoy.

Category 1: German = English

arm
auto
ball
bar
bus
chaos
computer
fan (team supporter)
finger
fit
gel
gram
hand
hi
information
manager
meeting
mole (meaning varies in both languages, but sometimes the same)
museum
name
okay
party
presentation
sex
sofa
sorry
spam
T-shirt
taxi
winter

Category 2: German ~ English
Hint: Just replace a letter or two, or try saying it outloud.

Bier
Brokkoli
Foto
Glas
Haare
Jacke
Kaffee
Kamera
Lampe
Lippe
Metall
Milch
Nase
Papier
Plastik
Ringe
Schuh
Socke
Sommer
Strikt
Tee
Wasser
Wein

Category 3: Same word but different meaning
German definitions are provided after the colons.

stark: powerful, strong
ton: clay
Wade: calf (anatomy)

Ultimate Frisbee Tournament in Cottbus

Saturday was a long day of playing frisbee. Our team here at BTU, Team DISCover (nerdiness is definitely a big product of technical schools), invited people from other areas to come play Ultimate Frisbee with us. There were a few people from Dresden and then a whole lot of people from various cities across Poland. The language of the day was English, but many of us German speakers often found ourselves speaking English with one another until we realized with whom we were speaking.

Each of the 6 teams was a mixture of players from various places. In my team I had two other DISCover players, one girl from Dresden, and three people from Poland. Games lasted 27 minutes. Each team played 6 games in total throughout the day, with typically an hour break in between each game. Five players are on the field at a time, so most teams had at least two substitutes to switch with the tired and weary (one or two teams had 8 team members).

I tried to drink a lot of water and eat in between each game (I brought chocolate chunk cookies for the buffet and people liked them). It paid off. I had the energy to keep sprinting hard until the end.

It was a good experience to play with people from outside of my BTU group because I acquired some new ideas on how to play well.

Here's a couple of videos from yesterday to show you the game of Ultimate Frisbee, but you'll find more photos on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/larriettasimon/

Stephan Assisting the Frisbee in its Travel down the Field



Mirko Assisting in making a Point

An Asian Evening

I attended a birthday party for a friend of Lili on Friday. There were a lot of students there from the World Heritage study program, which consequently meant that it was an international population (France, Chile, Peru, Korea, China, Japan, USA, Mexico, Germany). We all took turns helping to make the sushi and dumplings. We enjoyed French wine, German beer, German Gluehwein, and American Coca-Cola. I brought some chocolate chunk cookies and there was a cinnamon-chocolate cake. I got acquainted with a few new people and had some good conversations with classmates.

Lili spreading sticky rice on the seaweed for the sushi.



Dumpling Making and Consumption

It's Cold Outside!

People seem to think that my body should be "adapted" to cold weather since I have lived in the north my entire life. Let me educate you on this concept of "adaptation".

Adaptation is a process of natural selection which occurs over several generations. A single individual does not change itself to "adapt" to its conditions. Rather, if an individual is naturally made fit to survive in a certain situation, then that individual survives and reproduces future generations with the same natural abilities.

This means, I am not fit to live in the cold and no matter how many years I live in the cold, I will never "adapt". If I were to reproduce, my children would have a good chance of being wimps like me, unless the fitness of their father overruled my lack of fitness.

The Celsius temperature system makes cold temperatures sound so much more exteme than in the Fahrenheit temperature system. It's currently -11 degrees C, which sounds so extreme because it is below the number 0. But, in Fahrenheit it is 12 degrees, which sounds better because it is above 0.

I just remembered that winter temperatures often hover around 10 degrees F. This is a sad realization.

Sometimes in summer I find tank top and shorts to be too much clothes, whereas now I am wearing something like 4 layers on top and 3 on the bottom just to be comfortable. And don't tell me in the comments that it is my lack of extra meat on my bones which makes me cold! I eat! I do, I swear! I eat both healthy and unhealthy foods. I eat my good fats and bad fats. And still, I am cold.

Weihnachtsmarkt Cottbus

A Weihnachtsmarkt is a Christmas Market located in the downtown of German cities. The market is open every day for about a month before Christmas. I have only visited the market in Cottbus so far, but I plan on seeing the one in Berlin on Monday. From what I know so far, I can say that it is not like an American craft sale, rather an outside social gathering to eat grilled meats on bread, eat crepes, eat sweets (roasted candied almonds, Stollen--fruit bread, etc.), drink Gluehwein (mulled wine) and other hot alcoholic beverages, buy some things related to Christmas, buy some things related to winter, buy other general items which I suppose could be Christmas presents, play some carnival games, and ride on carnival rides.

I have visited the market a few times. The family of a friend of mine has a hut where they sell said hot alcoholic drinks, so I paid them a visit a few times. I have gone with Lili a couple of times and it was on our most recent visit yesterday when we rode on the ferris wheel. It was a little scary because the top half of the sitting compartment wasn't caged in, but the view of the city at night was beautiful. The photos below were taken by Lili and belong to her.

As to the hot alcoholic drinks, I have tried the Gluehwein and another drink called Lumumba. The Gluehwein is a red wine spiced with such spices as cinnamon, orange peel, and almonds. I was a little skeptical on my first sip of Gluehwein, but I took to it quit quickly when my tastebuds realized that it did not have the nasty taste of red wine but was actually sweet and smooth (just like I thought red wine should taste before I actually tried it). The Lumumba is a very delicious mixture which I was very skeptical of when I heard the ingredients: hot chocolate milk and rum. The chocolate milk my friend's family uses is very rich chocolately and the rum adds some sort of flavor, but not a nasty alcoholic one. There is also the option to buy Grog, which my family is supposedly acquainted with from our neighbor, but I think that the combination of hot water and rum doesn't sound very tasty, so I doubt I will be trying it any time soon (recipes may very depending on the regional origin of the recipe, so I can't say this Cottbus Grog is the same as Johann's Swedish Grog).

View of a small portion of the market in Cottbus (the market continues a ways down a sidestreet--the main shopping strip)



Me all giddy on the big ferris wheel!

Smirk...

...to the smug joy of a silent victory.

It just makes you feel good inside.

What a (Bad) Week

I thought I broke the refridgerator when I was trying to find the right dial or button to make it colder. After spending several hours in fear that I had killed the fridge, my apartmentmates came home and informed me that I had only pressed the "defrost" button. The upside to this is that we had too much ice in our freezer compartment, so a defrost was just what the doctor ordered.

I had to spend an entire day with someone I wasn't too keen on in the first place but who I ordinarily see nearly every day. Well, within the course of the day we had the ability to get on each others' nerves, ending in the person yelling at me and hurting my feelings. I decided that the upside to this was to remember not to say to other people what this person said to me.

I woke up to find the toilet water running non-stop. I decided to investigate under the tank cover. I found water pouring out from between a plastic ring and a metal pipe. I got the water down to a drip before I screwed the plastic ring too tight and caused it to crack. Water began spraying out from the pipe and flames began spraying out of the orifices of my head. In my state of panic and rage I managed to locate the turn-off valve for the water pipe. After coming to my senses, I took some pictures of the broken region (with a ruler for scale--last time I needed something from the hardware store I had to return home to do some measurements) and headed over to the hardware store. The helpful salesman showed me everything I needed. When trying to undo the pipes, I had some difficulty and went down to my old neighbor to ask for some more hands, but he said he would come by in an hour. I didn't want to wait an hour, so with renewed vigor I attacked the pipe. I succeeded in unscrewing the old part and putting on the new part. I nervously turned the water back on and flushed the toilet...and it worked! For those of you out there who ever thought that my lack of interest in construction would leave me inept at fixing household problems (and I know you people exist), I am here to show you that my abilities prove themselves worthy when necessity strikes.

Broken--You can see the crack in the plastic ring.


Fixed--I had to replace the whole water in-flow contraption (comes as one piece).



I'm hoping for this coming week to go a little better.

Learning Lessons from Mean People

Someone was mean to me and hurt my feelings a couple of days ago. I've spent the past couple days being frustrated and trying to figure out a way to get over the whole thing. I think I found the solution and it lies in the previous post.

Positive lesson learned: I should remember to not say to other people what this person said to me because it hurts feelings.

*Note: Please don't ask for details. I wrote this post in a vague way because I wanted to be vague. Just learn the lesson.

Best Advice I Ever Got

At the end of each day, make a list of positives from my day.

Hans Bathing

This is a video of Hans in the bathtub. I tried to make the horrible experience of bathtime a little more interesting for both the boys and myself by letting them stroll around in the bathtub. I was hoping at least one of them would be joyed by the experience, but neither was too keen on it. After bathtime they took a vacation from my bedroom into the living room and snuggled up near a warm heat register. That's not to say that my bedroom is cold, but the living room is cozier. And they smelled so yummy after the bath (from my shampoo) that I didn't have to worry about them leaving any stinky trace behind in the living room.

Black

Preface: I love wearing black. It's easy to pair with other clothing items and it is soothing to the eye.

Context: I am sitting in the library among 5 other people and every single one of us is wearing black. Some of us have it on top and bottom, some just top or bottom.

Question: Is it a current western style thing to wear so much black (ie Germany and USA), or is it just a current local thing to wear so much black (ie Germany)?

Additionally: Everyone wears black or olive green winter coats! I confess that I too own an olive green autumn coat and a dark gray winter coat. But, my typical winter coat (and the only one I have here in Germany) and my raincoat are both very brightly colored (winter -- yellow, rain -- red). I walk across campus and see a sea of dark coats. In a way I feel special, but I also feel a little awkward.

Calvin College Diploma in German

I had to translate my Calvin College diploma for the payroll office here at BTU. I tried to make it look nice and pretty, like the original. I think it looks cool in German, so I thought I'd share : )

Flickr Photos!!

Please tune in to Flickr to see new photos of Cottbus, food, and nature. There's even an opportunity for you to help me solve a mystery!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/larriettasimon/

Chopin Imaginaire

I attended a fantastic performance at the Cottbus Staatstheater (State Theater)last night. The program was titled "Chopin Imaginaire" and was a combination of Chopin's piano music and original ballet dancing! That there, my friends, is an amazing combination!!!

There were two people on the piano performing live but invisible from my seat on the first floor. I have no complaints at all about my seat though because it provided a great head-on view of the dancers, which were also not too far away as this is a relatively cozy theater (seating for ~ 260 on 3 levels). There were 4 female and 4 male dancers.

Chopin's compositions vary in length from barely a minute to several minutes long. The dancing performances ranged from classical pair dancing to comical skits. One of the wonderful things about ballet is how open it is to creative movement and expression. As the title of the program gives hint, the dancers brought to life what one may possibly imagine when listening to Chopin's pieces.

I cannot recreate in words the fantastic things they did on that stage, but I will give a few hints so you may develop a little bit of an idea of why I sat in that theater gladly smirking. For one of the pieces, the dancers wore socks and gloves which showed up in the black lighted stage. As they danced around and interwove their arms, all we really saw from the audience were free-floating hands and feet! In another piece only the men danced together and created with their legs raised up on one another what I thought of as a caterpillar marching around!

The stage and costumes continued to change as the show progressed. At the start there was a glossy black wall with 4 doors in it across the stage. The dancers spent a while "dancing" with the doors. Eventually the wall and half of the doors disappeared and only two doors remained but further back on the stage with a new, shear curtain as the wall. Since their were only 8 dancers, the dancers themselves used different additions and subtractions of black clothing to keep their characters fresh in each scene.

Although I could have easily attended this program on my own, I found out about it through the International Office listserv (emails) and attended with other students from BTU. The International Office coordinated a tour of the theater before the performance which was pretty sweet. We got to go under the stage and see the mechanics for how the center of the stage turns (which they used during the show) and where the doors are for actors to disappear through the stage floor. The guide also told us the history of the building. The most important fact for you to know as to the history is that this is the only large theater in the state of Brandenburg and it is supported through state funds. (Don't we have a theater in Detroit called "the State Theater"? Is it supported by state funds? Was it once upon a time?) In order to attract theater-goers from around the region, the theater has a different show each night covering the whole gamut of live performances like operas, plays, ballets, and orchestras. Many of the shows are put on by visiting performance groups since Cottbus is not such a major city as to have its own opera company, ballet company, orchestra...

One of the delightful aspects of this Chopin Imaginaire was its combination of live music and frequently changing visual entertainment. With a classical ballet there is one story line and one musical theme for a couple of hours. This can be wonderful, but a little tiring. I wasn't sure what to expect from this Chopin Imaginaire, but I was greatly pleased with what it turned out to be!

Rhyming in German

You know what's great about the German language? I'll tell you: the standard form of verbs ends in -en and one of the past tense forms ends in -t. Can you imagine how easy this makes things for poets?! Let's make a poem right now (instead of writing for schoolwork)!

Ich habe einen Hund gekauft,
obwohl es nicht erlaubt war,
Ich habe ihn getauft,
obwohl es nicht gestattet war.

Wir sind im Park gegangen,
er hat einen Ball gefangen.

Wir spielen jeden Tag,
weil er es mag.

Ich muss ihn verkaufen,
weil er zu laut ist,
Ich muss eine nette Familie suchen,
weil er mir so wichtig ist.

I bought a dog,
although it wasn't permitted,
I baptized him,
although it wasn't permitted.

We went to the park,
he caught a ball.

We play every day,
because he likes it.

I must sell him,
because he is too loud,
I must seek out a nice family,
because he is so important to me.

-----------------------------

I can see how much is lost when translating poems!!!!

All Gone!

My neighbor apartment building is completely torn down. All that remains is the rubble and a new view from my living room. I can now see the park across the street.

Is Blue Really Soothing?

The background color of Microsoft Word 2007 is blue. Blue is supposed to be a soothing color. What's your opinion? Do you think it works? When I know what to type, I don't even notice the color. But when I sit here wishing words would spring onto the page without any effort on my part, I fear it doesn't work so well.

Dreams -- Welcome to My Unconscious Head

I have the amazing ability to remember my dreams when I wake up in the morning, so I'm going to share some stories from the last few days.

Steve was in Germany for 24 hours. Yup, he flew up here from Afghanistan for 24 hours to attend some sort of event and then was going to be flying back a few hours after I spoke with him.

I was cooking and trying to salt my food, but the salt box had multiple holes at the top and across its middle. I instantly mentally blamed my apartmentmate Dominick and when he entered the scene I yelled at him, "Did you do this!?!"

I was hiking on rocky cliffs with a couple of people, one who I couldn't identify and the other an old apartmentmate (Christy Admiraal). Christy was trailing behind this other person and myself and fell off the cliff onto a sandy riverbank where a tiger was prowling about. Sorry Christy, but in our search we didn't find you.

I was in a mansion with some rooms with really high ceilings where large giraffe-like animals were hanging out for tourists who were mingling about, a few really quiet rooms with normal house-furniture like couches and beds, and a big, open, dirty cement-walled room with big rats running around on the floor. But these rats weren't pet rats like Hans and Frans. A couple of these crazy, dirty rats were in the hall where I was walking and jumped up viciously and tried to bite my arm. I woke up to reality flinging my arm away from my stuffed animal dog Perkins.

I love dreaming!

Ich uebersetze Deutsch.

I bet you don't understand the title of this post. That's okay, it's not your fault that you don't love the German language like I do.

I translate German. That's what the title says. And it's true, I do! I have signed on with the university's International Student Office to edit English texts and translate German texts to English.

I worked on my first assignment a couple of days ago. It was a lot of fun! I was given a couple of forms from the city office. I had to edit some stuff that was already translated and do some of my own translating. There was an entire page explaining a certain law, which might sound like dry reading, but it was actually kind of exciting to find out what all the words meant and learn all the regulations for this law.

I expect to learn a lot of new words through this work. You might be thinking that I should already know all of the words which I need to translate, but in fact I don't. What is important is understanding how German verbs conjugate (so I can find the core verb in the dictionary), how German builds compound words, how sentences are structured, and the German psyche behind word choice. I have these skills and I'm puttin' 'em to use!

"Ah-ha" Moments

There was a moment early on in high school when I remember sitting in English class and saying to myself "ah-ha! I finally understand the parts of speech!" It was a very jubilant moment since teachers had been trying to get it into our little idiot heads for years.

I had an "ah-ha" moment today in Aquatic Ecology. The topic of the course today was "acidification", which is a concept I've been taught about in several courses from various perspectives, but my chemistry skills are poor so thoughts in my head about acidification usually just felt like a blobby gray mass. Until today.

Unlike last week, when the professor for this class kind of sucked (we have a different professor nearly every week), the professor today was fantastic! He started with easy basics, hands-on examples, built up the concept in a simple way, and answered my questions clearly so that by the end I was actually comprehending the chemical formulas he was using to explain acidification!

It always feels good to say "ah-ha".

Building 2/3 Gone

This is my neighboring apartment building still in the process of being torn down. They seem to work every day, but are not making progress very fast. When I showed my new Chinese friend Lili the building and told her that they've been working at it for a few weeks now, she said that in China they would have that thing down in a day or two. I feel like they would in the United States as well. I guess these guys just want to hold on to their jobs for as long as possible.

COOKIES

Steffi and I made cookies on Sunday!

The light brown ones are chocolate chip. The dark brown ones were made with crushed haselnut, sugar, and graded chocolate. Both types of cookies taste delicious!

Delicious but hard. We need to develop a different technique next time to make sure they don't dry out. For the chocolate chip cookies I always wanted to wait until they were a little golden, but perhaps a combo of more butter and earlier removal would save them from being crispy.

Ultimate Frisbee Bruises

There are two categories of bruises in this world: the ones earned in a proud fashion and the ones to be ashamed of.

These are PROUD bruises! I earned them last week whacking the frisbee out of the air so that the opposing team couldn't catch it. This was the first week that I had done this with any proficiency (ie making contact with the frisbee). These were the kind of bruises which formed instantly and went away in just a couple of days. As proud as I was to have these bruises, I will try to adopt a new whacking method this week so as to not cause my hand too much more harm.

Cottbus Animal Shelter

It seems to rain on 99% of the days I go to the animal shelter. It worked out for the best on the day I took these pictures because the world looks really beautiful when it's cloudy and wet. We walk on paths alongside the Spree River and farm fields.

The doggy in the photo is Kalla! I know, you were probably thinking that Hannibal the Cannibal had transformed into a dog! I usually walk him. He's a lab mix, perhaps 3 years old, full of energy, and sweet. He has to wear the muzzle because he gets really excited around other dogs (in a bad way). Kalla likes to walk fast but typically partially adheres to my requests to not pull on the leash.

Intro to Today's Posts (but you'll probably read this last)

I've been a little busy lately between classes, schoolwork, eating meals in front of the tv, playing Ultimate Frisbee, and socializing. But, I have made sure to document important happenings with my camera so I will now present to you several entries based on photos. Enjoy!

Yup, I'm "one of them"

You know those foreigners you meet who seem to speak your language pretty well...except for that one word which they always seem to say wrong?

Yup, I'm one of them.

In English we have the word "when" and we use it in multiple situations. Take the following examples.

1) When I saw the ghost appear, I froze in horror.

2) When will you arrive?

The first sentence uses "when" in an if/when sort of way, whereas the second sentence uses "when" in questioning time.

German has two different words for these two different situations.

1) Wenn...
2) Wann...

My apartmentmate Steffi pointed out to me last week that I typically say "wann" for both sentences 1 and 2. Since notifying me about this fact, she has been policing my mouth. I am trying so hard to remember to say the correct word, but it is really astounding how frequently I still say "wann" when I should be saying "wenn". The stupid thing about it is that "wenn" is pronounced a lot more like "when" than "wann" is pronounced like "when", so my mouth should naturally gravitate towards the sound that is closer to English. (If you are trying to say it outloud for yourself right now, remember that the "w" in these German words is pronounced as a "v" and not a "w".)

I have a possible explanation for my consistent mistake.

There's another pair of words in German which share similar meanings and almost identical spellings which I frequently mix up: "denn" and "dann". Ignoring definitions, let's go straight to the point that "dann" is supposed to be used in most situations and "denn" is reserved for more special occasions. My mistake with this pair is saying "denn" too much. This mistake makes sense with its similarity to English because "denn" sounds a lot like "then" while "dann" sounds a lot like "than". I don't use the word "than" very much in English because it is a comparative words, while the word "then" is frequently used in if/then statements.

"Than" example: My dog is bigger than your dog.
"Then" example: If you are going to the store, then I want to come with you.

So, here's the language problem in its entirety: each pair of words has an "a" option and an "e" option.

wenn, wann
denn, dann

Martin Luther, the father of modern High German, would have been a much better person if he had decided, "Okay, it is the words with the "e" in the middle which should be used in most situations." But no. The "a" and "e" usage is mixed.

wenn, wann
denn, dann

Somehow the brain has to be programmed to remember which situation gets the "a" and which one gets the "e".

This may sound like a personal rant on the German language, but this is actually a common problem for non-native speakers.

...And yet, every time Steffi calls me out on it, the personal frustration grows bigger and bigger and ahhhhhhh. I am "one of them" and I don't like it.

Uberraschungsei/ Surprise Egg

This miniature excavator joined my knickknack collection this evening. Christin came home from school a few days ago with news from a presentation one of her classmates had given that day: the Kinder chocolate brand creates a popular kids chocolate called the Uberraschungsei in which a toy is hidden inside a thin chocolate egg, but this particular product is not permitted to be sold in the United States due to the risk of children choking (ie risk of law suit). So, since I was not acquainted with this particular product, Christin gifted me one of these eggs this evening. I was going to take a photo of the whole combo of broken open egg, the plastic egg in which the excavator parts were in, and the excavator, but I couldn't resist eating the delicious Kinder chocolate long enough to get the camera. The chocolate might not have lasted long, but this plastic excavator will be with me forever.

Curious about the histories behind the other knickknacks?

The red object on the left is a lighter I got in a bag of worthless free stuff from the bookstore. The word printed on it is Flaschenoffner/Bottle Opener.

The camel was a gift from Mrs. de Vries, Prof. Bert de Vries' wife. She gave one of these camels from Bethlehem to all of us upon completion of our month in Jordan/Palestine/Israel. The word printed on it is Bethlehem.

The lizard was originally a key chain, but the loop on his tail finally broke recently after about 3 years of dangling on my backpack. He was a gift from Marina, one of my good friends whom I worked with at Potts Park in Germany in 2006.

The green cylinder is a candle holder with an expired candle which was gifted to me for my birthday by Asta, also a good friend whom I worked with at Potts Park in Germany in 2006. I've mostly kept the candleholder around because I like how it looks.

Lastly, on the right is a farmer woman holding a lamb. I bought this little figurine while working at Michael's Arts and Crafts last Autumn. I grew up with a few sheep as pets, so this little figurine reminds me of happy times spent with Betsy, Jake, and the rest of their woolly ancestors. Additionally, the woman is holding a baby bottle in her hand with the lamb, which reminds me of Jake's first few months of life spent in the house getting bottle fed, wearing diapers, and getting smacked by the cat.

Rat in the box

Steve suggested I give the boys a box full of paper as a place to nest. I scoped out the discount grocery store today while shopping and found the perfect box. Frans and Hans seem to agree with me that it is nice and snuggly.

I also unknowingly complicated their lives by putting the ladder to the opposite shelf as the food and water. I only realized I had done this when I saw Hans scaling the wall this evening. It might sound mean, but even now that I've realized what I have done I am going to leave it this way. Steve told me that I should make their lives more complicated in ways that they get more exercise and have to think more. And its not like scaling the walls is anything new to them because they do it all the time for their own pleasure.

Ultimate Frisbee Lessons

I've never really been a team sport player. I danced (not partner dancing), did Track and Field, and bowled. I didn't like playing basketball in gym class because the other kids were so pushy with their bodies. I tried playing soccer but I was really awful and didn't have time to improve while still making time for dancing, which was much more fun and interesting. Volleyball has always been a fun thing to play with friends.

But, team sports can be fun and offer important life lessons.

Now that I've played ultimate frisbee for a couple of weeks, I've got a good idea of how all the playing strategies are supposed to work. With this burden of knowledge comes the responsibility to do the right thing.

Let's take a step back a moment and give an example of "doing the right thing" in a non-ultimate frisbee context. Christin set up some placards on our apartment door a few days ago so that we could keep track of who is home and who is not home. It's a great idea and I've tried to remember to flip over my card when I leave and enter, but it is indeed a task to remember to flip the sign when running out the door. On two of the three evenings on which I left the apartment for several hours, I forgot to flip my sign. Tonight was the first night I remembered. The point of this little story is that while my sign does not move locations, it still took me three tries to get it right.

Let's go back to ultimate frisbee. When playing the game, I don't have just one stationary object to think about like I do with the signs Christin set up. I've got teammates and opponents running everywhere and a frisbee which must be thrown with special care so that it flies to the desired destination. My brain spins with decisions to be made and most of them will most likely end in a mistake.

Here's the lesson: Decisions must be made and typically quickly. Mistakes will naturally occur and with frequency. But, time cannot be wasted dwelling on mistakes. Once they are made, try to (quickly)learn a lesson from them and then move forward.

I think that I am discovering why decent team sport players often carry themselves so confidently. They naturally make tons of wrong decisions and mistakes during games, but then they move forward. Without moving forward, there is no hope of doing something right.

I may not be a great frisbee thrower yet, but I am pretty good at catching it. My one excellent memory from the evening is of catching a low flying frisbee in the end zone while sliding and subsequently sitting on the ground.

Oh Boy! Paper Everywhere!

This is a video showing how excited the boys were when I put them in the cage with all the new paper.

The Rat House: Before and After

I completely cleaned out the rat cage a couple of days ago and then put in tons of new crumpled up paper. I covered every surface of the cage with the paper so that I could see where Frans would decide to build the nest, which side the bathroom would be located on, and if any paper would be left not included in the nest.

As you can see, Frans got to work and brought nearly every piece of paper into the nest. As of today when I am writing this, the only paper remaining not in the nest is about 5 pieces up on the top, right shelf.

I tried to create a tunnel out of a brownie box for them to run through, which Frans did do a couple of times, but then they flattened it during the nest building efforts.

In answer to my questions of where the new nest and toilet would be located, they remained in the same places as before cleaning.

Halloween!

I went down to the on-campus club on Halloween to enjoy a metal concert. I didn't want to dress up in a frightening way, but I did enjoy the opportunity to be more creative with my appearance. The music was decent and my cool look made me feel confident enough to chat with some people.

Then I came home and gave Frans some lovin' as thanks to his Daddy for inspiring me and giving me confidence to be myself (in both its bold and quiet forms).

Bye Bye Birdies

The bird family is gone. About a week ago I noticed that there didn't appear to be any babies in the nest anymore and the parents were only infrequently sitting on the nest together. I've been checking in every day to make sure that they are really gone, and I've concluded that it's true.

I don't know what kind of birds they were, but I asked my ecology professor one day about what he knew of birds having babies in the Autumn. He explained that some birds lay eggs 2 of 3 times during the Spring, Summer, Autumn mating season as long as the weather remains decent. Well, I'm not so sure these birds were good judges on "decent" weather, but I guess my theories on accidental late-season mating were probably wrong.

Maybe they'll return to their nest in the Spring!

The Other Half of the Story

I used to have this habit when I frequently wrote in my journal of only writing when I was frustrated, nervous, or mad, and then only including a happy tale every once in a while, which gives a lopsided picture of the inside of my head. I will try not to do that to you guys because you are an interactive audience and I don't want to give you a lopsided picture of my head. Then again, I tend to only write happy things on this blog, so a little dose of my frustrations, nervousness, and madness is actually what this blog needs to even things out (opposite to the journal situation).

A Chinese girl from my program invited me over for lunch today after class. She said that she's only a first level cooker, but I found it none-the-less tasty in its simplicity. It was really nice talking with her. We talked a lot about our different cultures. I learned a lot about China! And, it was a really interesting exercise to explain American culture. What I really found great though is when she said, "I feel like I share more similarities with you as a female American than I do with males from my own culture", which was a reference to what our ecology professor had said last night, "Male humans share more similarities with monkeys than they do with female humans." We had a good time and it made me happy.

Bye Bye Building/ And the Walls Came Tumbling Down

Remember how I said that there were some buildings in my neighborhood which were empty? Well, a couple of them are in the process of getting torn down today.

If your refer back to my beginning of October entry titled "View from my Living Room", you will see this big empty building which is getting torn down.

Tuesday Night Special

Tuesday nights are good nights in my apartment. The "new" episodes of "The Simpsons" and "Two and a Half Men" are on tv, and we are all fans of at least one of these shows. (I put "new" in quotes because American shows are often repeats to me because of the delay between US and German airings. I'm expecting things to be actually new in the Spring or next Summer.) I personally have been bored with The Simpsons since several years ago, so I only come out for Two and a Half Men. It's nice to sit around in the living room enjoying sitcom jokes together.

Tonight was extra special and we played a game of Settlers of Catan. I think I've only won this game once in my life, but I still enjoy sitting around with people and enjoying their competitive company.

People are Complicated (Myself Above All)

Some people have got minds which can comprehend mathematical concepts as if it were second nature. Some people have the love and patience to be kindergarten teachers. Some people marry and divorce 4 times, but still believe in love enough to get married a fifth time. Some people write lots of novels because they have alternate realms in their minds. Some people have the wires crossed in their brains and can't function in "normal" society. Some people are successful in their work but suck at their personal lives. Some people are successful in their personal lives but suck at their work.

I've been told many a time that it is the vast variety of personalities which make human society so great. I've been told to just be confident and happy with who I am, no matter what anyone else thinks. I've been told to seek my own happiness by doing whatever makes me alone happy.

And just when I think I've figured it, I am in a new situation or meet a new person who stirs up trouble in my happy little head. The trouble is that everything and everyone has positive and negative attributes. Sometimes even that which I love is that which frustrates me.

What do you get up for each day? What drives you forward? Christin said that looking forward to a concert a month in the future inspires her. For some people it is the hope that a new situation or place will make life more exciting. For students it is often the goal of finishing the semester. For 9-5 workers it is looking forward to Friday.

I used to think that I was a cold-hearted, mean person. But, I hate being mean. I feel incredibly awful when I am mean. So, although sometimes I am a little cruel, I think that in comparison to most other people, I am actually incredibly nice! And this is why I now think that I don't deserve the cruelty others impose upon me, even when they are "just joking".

Here's some questions which can probably be found as the titles of articles on internet magazine websites, but which trouble me.

How do you make friends?

How do you start a conversation?

What topics are actually interesting in a conversation?

What controls a conversation: what you want to say or what you think the other person wants to hear?

How do you end a conversation (without using a lame excuse)?

How do you numb yourself to everything in the world which hurts and just focus on the positive, the productive, the good?

I tried hiding from the world by continuing to sleep this morning even after I wasn't tired, but all I got for my efforts were frightening dreams (a lizard stabbed his fangs through my comforter!!!!)

Senior year at Calvin College was such a great year. I had friends in my apartment, friends in the apartment next door, and friends in my classes. I felt loved.

People might think that I'm full of confidence and happiness because of my over-compensating personality, but I'm really just reaching out for any fish which will bite (Okay, not just any fish because my cruel side has had to show its face a couple of times for unwanted friendships. I totally believe that I'm allowed to be picky.). I just have to figure things out in a short time period cause I only got 2 years this time.

People tell me that we are all in the same boat and feeling the same way. If this is true, then why doesn't it feel like it? Why does it feel like the person I am talking to is judging me in a negative way? Why does it feel like the person I am talking to isn't really listening and doesn't care about what I am saying? How do I know if someone wants to talk to me if I am the one who approaches and starts the conversation? How do I shift my fake confidence to real confidence?

This blog entry has been inspired by many people, which might even include you, so please comment with your most truthful and personal responses.

My Most Fantastic Sequence of Photos Ever!

Mission: Scout out Laurie's bedroom

Frans wanted to make sure he scouted out every reachable place in my bedroom. I had removed the clean sheets, towels, and blankets from the bottom shelf after he had already checked them twice, so he decided he had to check out the next level of clothes. I was actually hoping he would continue to scale the shelves, but this is as far as he went.

Ultimate Frisbee

I need to learn to not fall down when I play Ultimate Frisbee. Or, at least share the wealth with my other knee every once in a while...

I'm not sure how I got the bruise lower down since I only recall falling on my knee.

Rats (Say it with enthusiastic discouragement)

Saying, "Hey, don't bite me you little rat" becomes so much more appropriate when there really is a rat on the floor nipping at your feet.

ERM at BTU

Here's what's on the docket for my first semester of the Environmental and Resource Management Masters Program at Brandenburg Technical University in Cottbus, Germany.

Courses

Soil Protection and Ecotoxicology
This course is all about soil, from how it forms, activities which take place in soil, and human impacts on the soil including the negative contaminant inputs and the positive attempts at reducing and removing contaminants.

Strategic Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment
I don't know a lot about this topic yet. I do know that these are comprehensive management methods in which environments are assessed in order to provide governments with advice on what actions should be taken on projects which could significantly affect the environment. Example: Where to build the next major highway.

Introduction to Environmental and Resource Management 2
In this course all of us first year masters students will learn about how to write scientific papers and masters thesis'.

General and Applied Ecology
I think the name says it all.

Aquatic Ecology
Again, I think the name says it all.

Sport

Ultimate Frisbee
I chose this sport because I wanted a sport where I would have to run a lot, teamwork was involved, and I wouldn't have to learn a whole lot of new skills. It turns out that there are a lot more ways to throw a frisbee than I ever imagined, but with practice I hope to improve.

Animal Lovin'

Animal Shelter
Going to the animal shelter to walk dogs on Tuesday afternoons still fits in my course schedule.

Rats
Any time I am in my bedroom, they are present either sleeping, eating, or bickering. They are permitted the roam of my room when I release them to do so and on individual bases they may join me on my lap in the living room for t.v. watching.

Friends

I don't know if I would say that I have any friends quite yet. I have made acquaintances with several people, but only time will tell with whom I form bonds.
There are about 25 of us who are first semester ERM (Environmental and Resource Management) masters students. Only one of these people is actually German. Our international population originates from places like Mexico, France, Kenya, Camaroon, Great Britain, Pakistan, and China.
The educational and experience backgrounds of my fellow students is varied. Many of them previously studied some branch of engineering. The person with the most similar educational background to me is the German who studied Geo and Atmospheric Sciences in Austria. One person worked for four years as a chemical engineer before starting this program. Another person worked for four years on an oil rig ship calculating the amount of chemicals being dumped into the sea. This is the second masters degree for another person.
The motivations for studying are interesting to hear. The people who have held jobs say that they have worked in the system and now want to improve it. The Africans want to return to their villages and help improve the qualities of life there.

New Roommates: Hans and Frans

Hans and Frans, Steve's soft, cuddly, adorable rats have moved in with me! I have been entrusted with their love, kisses, and care during the year-long absence of Steve while he resides in a less friendly part of the world (ie Afghanistan).

*It sounds best to say "Hans and Frans", but in the photo it is actually Frans on the left and Hans on the right.

Society for Creative Anachronism: Crown Tourney

I spent my last weekend before the start of classes at a weekend-long Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. crown tournament event. Steve wore his Landsknecht clothing (Landsknecht: Renaissance Period, wealthy German mercenary) and I borrowed a female viking outfit from someone. The main events were watching several men compete in sword fights for the position of King and a feast. Sadly, the temperatures were cold and it rained all day Saturday, but nonetheless we had fun socializing and making merry.

Bird Family

I found both Mama and Papa bird sitting on the nest today. I had been contemplating the question: How do the babies and one of the parents all fit together in the nest? But, now that I see both parents sitting on the nest I have come up with a reason for how and why they manage that. I'm figuring that as the babies get older and bigger, it becomes difficult for just one parent to cover up the babies during inclement weather. So, both parents sit next to each other on the top rim of the nest. I can't imagine it's comfy, but what do I know about being a bird.

Germany's lack of organization

Germany is trying to drive me insane. It really is a terrible thing to have to face the rest of the world after experiencing the such wonderfully organized Calvin College. The university here makes everything so much more complicated than need be. So, the university gives each student an ID card. This card is useless though until you go to a special machine and "activate" the chip in the card. Then, you have to go to a special computer and register for an account. This special computer is in the same room as the special machine, but their ***** ain't any signs telling you that you have to visit both the machine and the computer! And then, because the university apparently doesn't have the computer know-how to centralize student info (already obvious by the activating and registering), each student has to register at the library in order to be able to check out media or view library materials online. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrr.

In the spirit of not letting Germany drive me insane, I will mention one process here which was much easier than in the United States. When someone wants to walk dogs at the Kent County Animal Shelter in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a class with a quiz held every few months must be attended. In contrast, all I had to do here was bring proof of my most recent tetanus shot and my ID on my first visit, then I was good to go.

Valentine's Day (2010)

There's a movie scheduled to come out in February 2010 titled "Valentine's Day". I think the movie was just an excuse for a bunch of Hollywood's biggest names to hang out, make-out, and try to bring in an enormous amount of cash. You should really check out the cast list on imdb.com because they got everybody!

Clothes: More than just a piece of cloth

I have added a new set to my photos on Flickr titled "Clothes: More than just a piece of cloth". The photo set follows well the theme of "welcome to my head" as you will enter my mental realm of memories and thoughts dear to my heart.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/larriettasimon/

Knitted a New Blue Scarf

How do I justify the hours I spend watching prime-time television? I knit a pretty blue scarf at the same time!

I am proud to say that I don't think I made one single mistake in my pattern. But, it's not like Christin didn't try to mess me up because she definitely did! You see, the pattern consisted of stitching two times in the back and then two times in the front. At the beginning of the project I had to count "one, two, one, two" in order to remember where I was at. Christin decided to try and mix me up by randomly saying "one, two, one, two". So, without telling her or Andre, her boyfriend who was also in the room, I chose to say "nine, ten, nine, ten" in order to keep myself straight. Well, at some point Andre cried out "Nein" in response to something said or done to him, and as I mentally stumbled to figure out if I was on "nine" or "ten", I reprimanded myself for forgetting that although they have completely different meanings, the English "nine" and the German "nein" are pronounced pretty much the same way. Obviously, I had to choose a new sequence of numbers that had no German relatives. There were of course several options available, but I had to avoid anything with the word "four" because that too sounds like the German "vor" (means: before). I settled on "five, six". After a few days I didn't have to count anymore because my body had developed a sense for the rhythm of the pattern.

And now I have a pretty new scarf! Any Christmas requests?

Baby Birds

If you click on this picture to make it bigger, you should be able to see several gray fuzzy creatures in that nest. I don't see them move around too much, but maybe I'm just too far away or maybe they don't move much so that they don't attract unwanted attention from predators. I've been watching the parent sit over them during rainy weather and it amazes me that they all fit together in that tiny nest.

Tag der Deutschen Einheit

Today Germany celebrates "Tag der Deutschen Einheit" (Day of German Unity). This year is the 20th anniversary of a united Germany.

I heard the announcement on the radio last night that today was going to be a holiday. I had been planning for days that today would be the day when I went grocery shopping. I decided that I wouldn't rush out and get groceries because I had enough to last me until Monday. It wasn't until Christin mentioned the holiday and said she was going to go grocery shopping that I seriously contemplated going out. But, I still didn't want to go. And then, I realized that I didn't have any more chocolate in the apartment!! Well, right then and there I realized that I had to go, even if it was 9:30pm.

If you recall from the past, I told you that the German grocery stores are only open until 8pm on weeknights and closed on Sundays. Well, things are a little different---for the better---in the old East Germany. Rewe, one of my local grocery stores, is open until 10pm on weeknights. And, if I recall correctly, I read on the Edeka sign that they are open for a few hours on Sunday afternoons.

Bella's Getting Bigger!

That is definitely the face of a darling! Well, Julie is a darling too, but I mean the adorable doggie Bella!

Um

I need to stop using the word "um" in my written speech as the sound of me thinking. It's starting to confuse me when I read my writing because "um" is a German word with an entirely different meaning than "I'm thinking".

For the curious minds, "um" in German means:
about (adverb preposition)
at (preposition)

View from my Living Room

I've shown you views of my building and the courtyard and now I want you to see what I see when looking out! These are views from my living room. As you can see, I get to spy on the lizard on the fountain. There's some sort of media communications building directly across from the apartment. And the view to the left is another group of apartment buildings. Hiding behind those buildings is the Aldi grocery store. The apartment building on the left side is completely vacant and there's a fence surrounding it, so I'm crossing my fingers that it is going to be torn down soon. Why would I wish such a terrible thing upon a building, you may ask? Well, because getting torn down is what happens to buildings in my neighborhood and it would be really fun to watch. From what I am told, just a year ago there was an apartment building across the field behind that media communications building. The building behind the apartments across from my bedroom (on the inside of the courtyard) is also vacant. I find it kind of creepy to pass by empty buildings, but thankfully I don't necessarily have to pass by any of these empty buildings unless I choose to.

Bird Babies in Autumn?

In this tree outside my bedroom there is a bird family. From what I understand, it's not normal for birds to have babies in Autumn, but I guess this family wanted to be a little different. Maybe Ma and Pa took a long time dating around before they found each other and fell in love. Maybe they got back late from winter vacation last Spring. Maybe they are both more book-smart than practical-smart and couldn't figure out how to build a nest. Maybe they are just idiots because they've got at least 4 baby birds in that nest who don't have enough time to grow up before winter comes.

In the News

As of the recent elections last Sunday, Angela Merkel is continuing her role as chancellor of Germany.

An outdoor concert was canceled a few weeks ago due to the neighboring restaurant/inn finding out that only one porta-potty was scheduled to be present for the expected 100 or more concert attendees.

It's around the time of the anniversary of my stupidity, but also of my great learning experience. We shall commemorate this anniversary by each doing what we love and being true to our selves. And, I want to thank you all for never once laughing at me.

Complaint on the German Language ( specifically, how they use it)

I put up with all sorts of quirks which the Germans have acquired within their language and how they use the language, but there is one thing which has been really bugging me lately. You'll probably think that it's nothing, but I think it is something because they are misusing the language and making me look like the idiot in the process.

Here's the situation: I go to fill out a form and the first box says "Name" (same as the English word name). So, what do I write? It doesn't specify "first name" or "last name", so I take a gamble and figure that it is the first box so I'll write my first name. Wrong. I move on to the second box and there it is written "Vorname" (first name). So, apparently I'm supposed to just know that my "name" is not in fact Laurie but is Koning. Of course, I know that on most official forms the last name is written first, but forms can be very nerve-racking and I try to do exactly as the instructions tell me. If someone on the street asks for your "Name", you don't say just your last name. "Name" is a general term for a person's entire title, such as Dr. Milly Gray, Pat Dewey, or Mr. Sire. Why, oh why do they just put "Name"!?!

Google's One Day Only Event!

If you go to Google.com today, you will find Google celebrating it's 11th birthday by writing it's name "Googlle".

But, if you head over to Google.de, you will find Google celebrating Germany's national election day by writing it's name with the second o being drawn like a ballot box which includes a square around the o and an x over it.

This is a one-day event, so go check out these Google websites today!

New Town, New Tune

Remember how when I was in Erlangen I said that the sound of the ambulance played in my head all day long, whether there really was an ambulance going by or not?

Well, new town, new tune.

The doorbells in my apartment building are three long descending tones, which remind me of the NBC theme, but isn't. It's rare for the doorbell of my apartment to ring, but I hear my neighbors' doorbells all day long. And, because it is such a distant sound, I am not always sure whether it is just an echo in my head or the real thing.

Cottbus Points of My Interest

I was thinking today about how tiny European refrigerators are and I decided that I wanted to make a map of my neighborhood to show the locations of grocery stores so that people could understand how easy it is to get more groceries since the fridge empties out in just a couple of days. I thought that I was going to have to work in Paint and create a scary looking map as I do not own a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) program. But, I made a cool discovery today that Google is providing first-class tools to the modern man. Below you will find a link to a map I made in Google's personal map making program. The scope of my map expanded a bit once I realized that I didn't have to work in the finicky Paint. Have no fear to roam about the map and click on the icons/lines to get info on what they represent, but don't zoom in or out because then the icons will be in the wrong spots.

Welcome to my neighborhood.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103359680184196891902.0004742b384805dcd50be&ll=51.768867,14.340931&spn=0.019732,0.043731&t=h&z=15

XXL-XXXXXXXXL

Read the green sign on this store, "Mannermode XXL-XXXXXXXXL". It's a men's clothing store for men of unbelievable sizes! I read recently that the world's tallest person at the moment is 8'1". I don't think even he wears size XXXXXXXXL.

Berlin Marathon 2009

My friend Baraa was visiting Berlin this weekend to spend some time with his Egyptian friends in celebration of the end of Ramadan. He invited me to go up and hang out with them. When he first mentioned that he was in Berlin, I thought, "Wow, so far away". It took me a few minutes to remember that I don't live in southern Germany anymore. So, I took the train up there Sunday morning and then returned in the evening.

The annual Berlin marathon happened to be taking place on Sunday, so we saw a stretch of that as we walked from Alexander Platz to the Brandenburger Tor. There were lots of musical groups entertaining and encouraging the runners along the route. 40,000 people were registered in the race and around 35,000 crossed the finish line. This marathon is considered to be one of the fastest marathons in the world due to the flatness of the course. It was very inspiring to see people of all ages, shapes, and sizes, pushing their ways along the course. Okay, maybe not "all" shapes, but definitely some shapes which made me think, "If they can do it, then I could easily do it." But, I had the number 26 in my head, and I forget that a marathon is 26 miles and not 26 kilometers. When I go for my weekly jog, I only do about 6 kilometers. A marathon is 42 kilometers. So, multiply my distance by 7...Yeah, not gonna happen. Inspiration gone.