I once was a writer...

Este año ha sido particular. He vivido en 4 ciudades, dos países, dos continentes, dos hemisferios, con dos idiomas (tres, si contamos que el español con acento español no es realmente español; y 3.5 si contamos el idioma de Barcelona--¿cuál es que es? ¿Catalán? Aunque no viví en Barcelona, sólo estuve de visita por tres días... pero ajá, es chévere... y si vamos a contar el catalán toca incluir el Swiss-German que hablan en Zurich, porque estuve ahí dos horas. Eso suma... esteeeee... 3.6 idiomas?), 4 culturas... Un año, cuatro ciudades. Cuatro casas. Cuatro camas--bueno, 3, porque mi súper cama de Bogotá se fue a Barranquilla. Entonces, mi primer deseo para 2011 es vivir en la misma ciudad por 365 días. Me gustaría decir "el mismo lugar", pero a mediados de enero nos mudamos, entonces para qué pedir un deseo que sé que no se va a cumplir. Este año he pasado por más de 4 estaciones. El clima indescriptible de Bogotá (no porque sea como el sabor de Quattro, sino porque e...

Tuve una situación muy complicada esta Navidad. He tenido esta experiencia varias veces ya, no muchas, pero tantas veces como ciudades en las que he vivido: Barranquilla, Augusta, Lampang, Bogotá, Madrid, Kiel... entonces, 6 veces. Es una sensación complicada, difícil de describir. No difícil porque me falten las palabras (a mi casi nunca me faltan las palabras... y cuando me faltan, me las invento. Es esa la bellezura de mi idioma, y de mi carrera), sino porque la situación, la sensación, la experiencia, es tan patética, tan ridícula, tan--tan triste, que me da como pena aceptarla y describirla. Pero sé que el primer paso para solucionar un problema es precisamente a ceptar que hay un problema. De modo que, aquí voy. Tengo un problema. Mi problema es que no sé qué es lo que quiero. La noche de Navidad (para ser exactos, el 24 de diciembre. Los gringos dicen que el 24 es la víspera de la Navidad, y los alemanes dicen que es el primero de 2 o 3 días de Navidad... entonces, para ...

Let the Wold know that I played Handball. (Don't let the World know that it was not really Handball per se, but rather a training session. In my defense, it lasted two hours, and it was pretty intense.) Let the World know I did it. I managed it. I achieved it. Let the World know I won't do it again, not because I can't , but because I choose not to. (Don't let the World know that I choose not to do it because I am a big, fat, lazy cow. Or a big, fat, lazy walrus. Or a big, fat, lazy [insert huge, big, fat, lazy animal].) Let the World know that I did it. (Don't let the World know that I am in unfathomable pain, that I can barely move my legs, that I have taken two pain killers -- Nini, chill, anything remotely good is not sold over the counter, Schade... --, applied muscle-relaxing ointment, and have slept almost 12 hours trying to make the pain go away. Also, don't let the World know it has not gone away.) Let the World know I am awesome, and stro...

Most of the times--really, almost ALL the time--I appreciate and congratulate Germany for their use of their own language to express themselves. I've given some examples in past posts, but I've come accross a few new ones: - Pfankuchen: Pancakes. Exactly and perfectly translated... I do wonder which language "invented" Pfankuchen , but both languages have the same word--only, each one in their own language. (How many times can I use the word language in a sentence before I make it awkward?) - Weihnachtsbaum: Christmas tree, also a perfect translation. - Weihnachtsmann: Christmas Man = Santa Claus. I'm not really clear on what the difference is between Santa Claus and St. Nicholas, or Nikolaus, or whatever--but this Weihnachtsmann wears a red suit and brings Christmas presents... so I believe in him! However, I've discovered a word (is a "phrase" two or more words? In that case, I meant to say that I've discovered a phrase) that drives m...

Few experiences are more enriching than cultural traditions completely unknown to foreigners; that is, those experiences die gehört zu den Deutschen  (you see? I'm already thinking in German...), those experiences that belong to the Germans. Or the Europeans in general, I'm not quite sure. But, as for me (and I am really the only one who matters in my Blog), this weekend was my Germanstest weekend ever. It began with Saturday: Inga (it would only be more German if  Inga , typical German name,   wore typical German long braids, wore the typical German dress [which is only worn in Bayern, btw...], and sang the typical German yodle... but she doesn't) invited us to a Handball Spiel . (A totally aside and pointless side-note to all Colombians reading this: The Urban Legends that we hear about the adventures of a pair of German twins more than 20 years ago in the Colombian highways are true!) To all of you unfamiliar with the rules of Handball, google them. I was there and ...

With 14 days and a few hours still left of 2010, there some things I have yet to do. I am not a fan of New Year's resolutions, because you begin all optimistic, and by January 10th you've already done that which you said you would not do, or you have not started that which you said you would start. So, I've given some thought to this (not much), and there are some things I will do before 2010 comes to an end. 1. I will stay away from my On-Line life. I will eventually check my e-mail and my facebook accounts, and I will continue to write on my Blog, but I will not spend entire days online (like I did today--since 6 a.m. until 8 p.m., and I have yet no plans to turn off my laptop...). 2. I will read two books: One in German (fables and children's stories, it's the best I can do so far) and one in English or Spanish (courtesy of Federico Kleen). Options include The Da Vinci Code (I have both the Spanish and English versions), or a trashy, Pearl-type romance nov...

I try to be pragmatic. I try to follow philosophies that allow me to understand, because when you understand you feel no pain. I think, for instance, in that old philosophical saying, Death can be untimely, but never surprising . And then, in trying to bring this to modern-day words, I think about what my philosophy teacher once said: The only thing you need in order to die, is to be alive . I wish I had the strong Faith some people have; that way, I could easily find solace and comfort in the situation, thinking that he who has left this worldly terrain is now in heaven. I try to think about it in a scientific way. I try to think that the decomposition of the body is nothing but a chemical reaction, and that the lack of being is just some sort of chemical malfunction or so--I haven't really given much deep thought to this scientific approach. I try to be pragmatic. I try not to let feelings get in the way. But Pragmatism was more than likely created only for machines. And ...

Tanto como no entendía por qué un país es primer-mundista y otros no, tampoco entendía por qué algunas personas (ciudadanas de algunos países, o residentes de algunas ciudades) son felices y otras no. No estoy segura qué dirán los indicadores de "felicidad" de las Naciones Unidas, o de la Unesco, o de quien sea que controle tales indicadores--o, ni siquiera estoy segura, más bien, si ese indicador existe o no. La felicidad no es un estado constante, sino todo lo contrario: una variable constante . Puedo estar feliz ahora porque hice un ponqué y me quedó rico, pero puedo no estar feliz ahora, o ahorita, porque me voy a engordar al comérmelo... De todos modos, sí creo que sea posible definir, si bien no precisamente cuantificar, qué gente es más feliz que otras. Como yo no soy mucho de seguir las corrientes de investigación tradicionales, sino que estoy siempre a la vanguardia (eso, o la flojera que me da investigar es impresionante...), en estos últimos 5 meses he identifica...

Estoy obsesionada con entender qué significa primer-mundismo. Con eso no me refiero a la definición inicial del concepto de primer, segundo o tercer mundo, cuando durante la guerra fría los de "primer mundo" eran los aliados de los gringos, y el resto éramos los malos, o los idiotas demasiado pobres para tener velas en ese entierro. Me refiero a la clasificación de un país como rico, "normal" o pobre. Pero no estoy satisfecha con lo que he encontrado en años de estudio sobre el tema, de modo que durante mis viajes he intentado coleccionar puntos o temas que son de importancia para mi, y estoy creando mi propio índice de primer-mundismo. Lo hago porque no estoy satisfecha--como ya dije. No estoy satisfecha con los indicadores económicos de ingreso per cápita o de producto interno bruto. No estoy satisfecha con los indicadores de desarrollo, porque entonces un país agrícola como Colombia nunca va a ser de primer mundo. No estoy satisfecha porque no todo en la vida e...

I think birthdays are amazing. Every person gets one day every year--only one day, but every single year --that is all about him or her. One day when everything is all about you: what do you want to eat? Where do you want to go? What do you want to do? When do you want to do it? What do you want to wear? Some people (like Honey) don't particularly enjoy birthdays. That means that I now have two days when everything is about me: My birthday, July 14th, and his birthday, December 10. His birthday is all about me, because I have to make sure I make everything perfect for him. It's amazing. He usually does not mind what I choose, so I get to choose what I want. And when he has a particular wish, I usually agree with it, so it's still about me (technically). Honey turned 26 this past Friday--which is cool, because I've decided to turn 23 in July. We had a party in Billiard Galerie --amazing place, amazing people, amazing service, the best cocktails in the world (and...

Recently (since January 1, 2005), the German government (the Bundestag) passed a law (Gesetz), stating that all Foreigners (Ausländer) wishing to stay in Deutschland for more than 12 months ought to go through an Orientierungskurs . This is a brilliant idea. I'd like to claim credit and say that Angie did read my blog and created this Deutschland für Idiots course for me. But, alas, I cannot but say the truth. The Germans are a first-world nation because they think of everything. Like we Latinamericans say, mientras Usted apenas va llegando, yo ya fui y volví, something along the lines of, while you are now only arriving, I have already come and gone back (ok, maybe today is not my best day for translations...). All the blogs I've posted about my lack of knowledge of the Deutsch system have come to an end, because after these 9 days (4 down, 5 more to go) I will know everything worth knowing about the Deutsch. Should you have a question (besonders, die Deutschen), I have ...

Los exámenes de sangre salieron perfectos... ...y mi mamá y honey sí me leen :-) Hasta me siento mejor. Mañana empiezo mi Orientierungskurs. Esta vez sí prendí la segunda vela para Adviento. Bueno, y ajá, ¿ahora qué hacemos?

Für Hilke, weil es ein "self-fulfulling profecy" ist... Everyone has always heard that the Germans are very strict--things are they way things are, and period. There is no conversation and no debate about it. I've had a few experiences with this fact, and though sometimes I wish they would be a little more Latino, a little more lax, I do enjoy living in a country where things are clear, and they are the way they are. This weekend, Herr and Frau Siedenburg took us for a ride in Boksee (Nicole and Hendrik were not there; but then again, they had no idea we were going to Boksee). Honey had to practice his snow-driving skills before taking his test (which he takes on Monday). I will cut the story short (much to Hilke's dislike) and only emphasize on what matters. After a slight misunderstanding, we were told to come at 1 p.m. (the Germans say 13 Uhr). We went for a ride around town, saw a frozen lake, a church dating back to the 13th century, some wild deer running ab...

Honey works very hard, every day. He comes home exhausted, not only because of his hard work, but because the way back home from his work is uphill in his bike. With the weather so bad as its been, it makes him double-tired... Today he called me--he was a couple of blocks away, and wanted me to be dressed and ready to go out. I was surprised, and asked why. His answer was amazingly wonderful in it's unbelievable simplicity: "We're going to play in the snow." I jumped off my chair, and started to get dressed. By the time Honey came home, I only had my jacket to put on. Attached are the best pictures we could take. It was about 4:30 p.m., which means "night" here in Germany, and our camera fell in the snow and was not working perfectly well. But you can see my huge smile well enough to know how much of a good time I had. In the back, left, my frozen bike. How many centimeters/inches of snow is that?! Feeling like a little kid again :-) ...