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).