Tingle

Sometimes I wish I were just a tiny bit more spontaneous and irresponsible. But I think this time I will stay on the straight and narrow. but just this time. I think. it's really amazing how very last-minute flights to very far-away places can be so very affordable.

I am playing around with the idea of making some big changes in my life, so look out for that. It could very well be that my incredibly elementary knowledge of a scandinavian language could come in good use (imagine that!).

Yesterday my itchy feet metaphor turned literal as my Lyme Disease decided to play around with the nerves in my extremities. That was awesome.

Arbeitsamt ended yesterday with a very lovely lunch up at Schloss Greifenegg, which is by far the fanciest restaurant I have been to in Freiburg. It was a very lovely time with this group, but I am very much looking forward to having a tick more freetime.

Itchy Feet

So, I have already failed my self-imposed challenge to blog every day but, hell, we all know I am not that interesting anyway. And, my ascetic, I-don't-need-material-goods-because-they-only-get-stolen lifestyle (which only gets ascetic-er by the day!) makes my blog not especially visually pleasing. Everyone knows we only read blogs for the pictures that make us feel like our life (food, travels, wedding) isn't nearly as cool (delicious, adventurous, extravagant) as the next guys. But they inspire us to greatness.

My weekend visiting my family in Switzerland was fabulous and exactly the little mini-break I had been craving. A word of the wise: as much as living abroad is awesome, it doesn't mean you don't sometimes get a little bored or that life doesn't get a little mundane (especially if you are working/studying 12 hours a day!) After having lots of guests (the entire Bauer family, Steffi) meeting up with my very travel oriented friends (who are spending their summers in Australia, Thailand, Indonesia etcetera) and having a very vivid dream which nearly convinced me to hop on the next plane to Africa, I was (or have been) really itching to get out. It is not that I don't like it here, but I have the theory that no matter where you are, the everyday has a tendency to become the everyday. Pity, that.

So I was in Switzerland with my... third(?) cousins who just ooze so much awesomeness you'd better not stand too close. We did a lot of water related things, like swimming in the Aare, which runs though Bern and is super cold but I, unlike my pansy snowboarding cousins, could handle it (thanks body fat percentage over 2%!)and bathing in Leukerbad, which I really think is something the general American populus is seriously missing out on! There is nothing more relaxing than sitting on a chaise lounge-like apparatus submerged in steaming hot thermal water while looking at waterfalls in the Alps and enjoying the raindrops pattering on your head.

Oh god, shut up Cheryl.



It was, all in all, a very nice weekend for taking a step back and reflecting. Things are really, really good up in here. I study something that is incredibly useless but it makes me happy. And I am so lucky to be as mobile as I am. And on that note, I am reconsidering my decision to get a cat. and by that I mean I am not getting a cat. I was invited to spend some more time working for Renata (my "aunt") this summer so that I can learn the language, which is convenient because I am going to write my papers on Swiss German and make my life sound academically legitimate, even though I really just want to hike in the mountains and eat raclette and hang with my super cool family. Shh, don't tell anyone.

Swell part 4

What I find cool today?

I'm going to Switzerland to hang out with my super cool family for the weekend! Hoorah!

Swell part 3

I have been watching this video for a good while now, and, let me tell you, I can't tire of it. I think Lykke Li (and her two beautiful band members) is positively charming, and I think this acoustic version of "I'm good, I'm gone", which happens to include my all time favorite instrument, the accordion, is far superior to the original electro-ish song.

Besides being precious, the real reason I love Lykke Li is because I currently love anything that comes from Sweden! That's right, I am talking about Ikea, herring salad, språket, and social welfare. Oh, and of course beautiful dancing boys with Knäckebrod.

Swell indeedy part 2

Today was a really lovely day with plenty of things to gush about. but if I am going to confine myself to one thing (or, better put, one aspect of one thing) it had better been the fact that my roommate, Jane, has "blossomed into a lovely young cook"

For the last two years, Jane has been very significant in keeping me up on what's cool. I like to attribute it to the fact that she has three older sisters (but don't tell her that, I think she thinks it's all her)

Anyway, Jane and I have very similar tastes, particularly in everything pertaining to food. Except that she hates peas, which I find absolutely preposterous. And, since food plays an an only slightly larger role in my life (in fact, in the "getting to know" part of all of my classes I teach I introduce myself as following: "My name is Cheryl and I am from California. I study German Dialectology at the University and have lived in Freiburg for about two years. My hobbies are eating, cooking, reading about food, looking at food, and talking about food. I also like enjoying the nature in and around Freiburg")than my roommate, I thought I would tell you a little about Jane's tastes.

Jane loves guacamole.
Jane loves consuming anything floral (Ikea beverages, shisha, et al.)
Jane is maybe addicted to Rhubarb yogurt.
Jane likes to experiment with flavors other deem "exotic"
Jane just commented on "switching genres" because after enjoying a dinner of guacamole and strawberry ginger cocktails she moved on to strawberry scones with lime basil curd (which she found too oily but which I find divine. guess who made it) and tea for dessert.

Our little abode may not be much too look at, but man, is it flavorful.

It's June! Things I find Swell- Part 1

I have decided to challenge myself this month. Every day I am going to write about one thing in my life that I find lovely. I will even try my very best to convince Jane to let me take pictures so that I can show you some of these dandy things as well. Though I am sure that all of you are incredibly imaginative people who can visualize my life through my gift of word. (FYI, one thing that I really, really find unswell is being stolen from. but let's focus on the positive!)

Something that has really made me happy lately is the vast amount of public holidays in Southern Germany. This spring time party starts with Easter, moves on to Labor Day, Ascension, Pentacost, and Corpus Christi. Honestly, I feel like I haven't had a five-day workweek since March.

Today, for those of you who are unenlightened, is Pentacost, which is the day that the holy spirit came to feast with the Apostles seven weeks after Christ's death. For me, it was a lovely day of feasting, enjoying the sun, reading trashy magazines and worshiping Lia.



Tomorrow is back to work for me, but only for two and a half days! Then it's off to Switzerland!

a little like Hannibal

three weeks ago I signed up for "Gemüse im Abo" which is essentially a subscription to local vegetables, similar to the CSA program in the States. Since then a man from a village not far from here has been biking to my apartment with organic, seasonal, local vegetables (which, by the way, I really want to start calling "veg" like our British friends) every Wednesday. I don't get a say in what I get, which has been absolutely awesome. Usually there is quite a bit of normal fare (carrots... lettuce... cucumber...) but there are usually a few screwballs as well (sunchoke! sorrel! rhubarb!)

Tonight I finished off my last vegetables of the week... Fava Beans! A big hug goes to the first person to guess what I drank with it

Speaking of which, I have a lot of homework to do tonight and decided that said beverage would be a nice accompaniment to reading 100 pages on various aspects of German dialectology. Which I am totally allowed to do because I am an older, sophisticated Masters student in Europe. Give me a freaking beret already. I guess I should stop shaving my armpits and all will be right with the world.