The two-week “you thought you were finished with school sucker!” German course is officially finished and I am now a professional in the art of Deutsch sprechen. Sike! My German still sucks but I’m speaking much better than I was when I got here. When anyone gives me crap I just tell them I’m American. Surprisingly I haven’t been beat up for that yet.
So the status of my climbing-injured finger doesn’t appear to have changed since the last time I tried to hang on the trim molding around the door. I’m going climbing next weekend anyway. A climbing friend from the States lives a few hours from me and invited me up to her place to climb. Since I am a known masochistic outdoor adventurer, I accepted. I plan on taping my fingers up to the point of nearly cutting off circulation and hopping on a few easy climbs before succumbing to taking my rightful place as belay bitch for the rest of the day. I’ll also be taking my fancy camera along to snap some sweet shots of the area. Regardless of my level of success at climbing next weekend, it should be a fun trip.
I really do miss climbing though. It’s nearing 3 months since the last time I climbed anything more enthralling than the 3 flights of steps it takes to get to my apartment. If I don’t notice any progress in healing then I will have to temporarily supplement my climbing addiction with other endeavors. Namely running, mountain biking, drinking large amounts of German beer while meeting excessively attractive fräuleins, reading novels and playing games that distract me from anything productive and OCCASIONALLY dabbling in the study of the German language. Hmm, on second thought I better bump the “language study” part up a few notches in priority since it currently conflicts with the potential for meeting said excessively attractive fräuleins. I better get on that.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Lay down the hammer!
Has anyone been watching the World Cup lately? Given the time that it airs in the States, probably not. We have the advantage of the games airing at 4PM and 8:30PM. I remember people skipping class to see the games during my freshman year at Widener. If you think that's a bit overboard, you should see how big the WC is over here. They have huge tv screens outside at some places for public viewing. Biergartens are the most popular site to be at for gametime. Imagine the outdoor seating at your local sports bar, multiply that by about 6 and then add a 1 Liter mug of beer in each observer's hand. Then you're getting close. Don't forget that Germany is still in the running to win the whole thing. Remember when the Phils won the Word Series? That's how ALL of Germany will be if they win the cup. The Germans have incredible national pride and don't hesitate to show it one bit. People were driving around blowing their black, red and gold vuvuzelas and honking their horns after Germany beat England. Mind you it was about 10:30PM when this happend. Damn vuvuzelas.
I was in Munich for the game against Argentinia. This was expected to be a tough match for Germany, but that first goal set them on a rampage that ended in a 4-0 shut out. Aufwiedersehen Argeninia! I won't be going back to Munich for the game on Wednesday. I'll suffice for watching it on my friend's nice HDTV.
After the Argentina game I went to a bar with a few friends and played my first German drinking game. It wasn't much of a drinking game except that it is incredibly more difficult, and entertaining, when drunk. Additinionally the loser buys the next round of drinks. Anyway, the game is played on the top of a large log. More like a tree stump honestly. It's 2 feet in diameter and about 3 feet off the ground. Table height. Each player is given a standard nail, the kind with a nice, big, flat head to aim for. The game starts by tapping the nail into the log with a hammer, just barely enough to get it to stand up. Now the fun starts. Each player must hit their nail into the log until the nailhead is flush or below the surface. But you have to do it with the opposite side of a pick hammer. Like this one:
Get the idea now? To make matters more difficult, you are not allowed to place the hammer overtop the nail during the wind up. You have to start your swing with the pick end touching the edge of the log. One upstroke and lay down the hammer! Add a few beers and this game is way more fun than beer pong. The first person to sink their nail into the log completely is the winner and the last person to do so must buy the next round of drinks. Then it's game on again! Oh yeah, and don't put your drink on the log (table).
I was in Munich for the game against Argentinia. This was expected to be a tough match for Germany, but that first goal set them on a rampage that ended in a 4-0 shut out. Aufwiedersehen Argeninia! I won't be going back to Munich for the game on Wednesday. I'll suffice for watching it on my friend's nice HDTV.
After the Argentina game I went to a bar with a few friends and played my first German drinking game. It wasn't much of a drinking game except that it is incredibly more difficult, and entertaining, when drunk. Additinionally the loser buys the next round of drinks. Anyway, the game is played on the top of a large log. More like a tree stump honestly. It's 2 feet in diameter and about 3 feet off the ground. Table height. Each player is given a standard nail, the kind with a nice, big, flat head to aim for. The game starts by tapping the nail into the log with a hammer, just barely enough to get it to stand up. Now the fun starts. Each player must hit their nail into the log until the nailhead is flush or below the surface. But you have to do it with the opposite side of a pick hammer. Like this one:
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