Feliz Natal! Rio wrap up!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! I'm not in Brazil anymore, in fact I'm about as polar opposite as you can get from Brazil! I'm at my Uncle's Mountain House riding out a snow/ice storm! Nevertheless, I want to write a blog about the highlights of our time in Rio.

Monday is when we arrived in Rio and settled into our Hotel, the Windsor Martinique. It was located RIGHT on the Copacabana beach, so naturally we headed there immediately. Later that evening, we headed to Mercado Popular da Uruguaiana to do some partying. Supposedly there was Samba dancing going on somewhere on the premises but it was essentially a crowded street party and I couldn't stray too far from the Caipirinha stand. We had a lot of fun, despite the harrowing journey we had to make to get there. We met a couple of Brazilians that spoke English (a pretty rare find), a German who sounded Australian, and these two sleezy Parisian dudes. One of them was wearing a Ninja Turtle T-shirt. They were both rather memorable.

The next morning everyone woke up (slowly), headed down to the lobby for some complementary breakfast, and then set out for the Marina da Gloria. We took a boat tour around the coast and harbors of Rio. It was really awesome and relaxing. We listened to Brazilian music and soaked up some sun. We even had a group picture photobombed by a Chinese man. Excellent. After the boat ride we walked around the city and went lotsa places. Churches, banks, libraries, the usual sight-seeish stuff. Then we headed back to the hotel for some R&R.

Wednesday started with a trip through the Market. We tried our best to blend in, but a group of 11 Gringos walking around is rather... conspicuous. We were making our way to the Centro de Operaçoes Rio. This place is supposedly the "command center" and we were going to get some inside info about how Rio is gearing up from the Olympics. When we arrived to the place we weren't even allowed to go in because there was a dress code that we didn't know about. Apparently no one is allowed to wear shorts or sandals in Brazilian Government buildings - who knew! Even though that aspect of the day was a flop, we recovered and still managed to do some pretty cool stuff. We took a hot and sketchy train to the Complexo do Alemao which is this sky tram system that takes passengers over a huge Favela (slum). It was an interesting set up - like the Brazilians were like "hey tourists come see how our poor people live!". It was cool, but weird. I must say though, compared to the slums I've seen in India, the Brazilians have it good. Electricity, dish television, and water tanks on the roofs of their tottering cinderblock homes. After the sky ride, a group of us headed to the Escadaria de Selaron some famous tiled steps. The steps have tiles from all over the world! There was a tile from Ohio right next to a tile from Lima, Peru (this is significant because Jordan and I's roomie Janet is from Peru!). Also, there was a tile from WUPPERTAL! I couldn't believe it! It was incredible. The steps led up to an incredible view of the city.

Thursday we rode the Bondinho de Pao de Acucar up to the Sugar Loaf! Sugar Loaf is this giant rock formation that looks like a loaf of bread... kinda. We rode up these huge high speed gondola things that can hold like 70 people at a time. The view from the top was awesome - so many good views everywhere you go in Rio. Also, there was a huge group of German tourists up there, so I got to eavesdrop on a tour auf Deutsch. It made me happy! Later that day we went to lots of garden type places Jardim Botanico do Rio de Janeiro and Parque Lage. I saw wild(ish) monkeys way up in the tops of trees! They were cute! We had a sweet dinner along the lake that consisted of beef, beans, and rice - surprise surprise.

And now the moment you've all been waiting for. I bet everyone was wondering when we were going to take the Trem do Corcovado to see Cristo Redentor (the giant Jesus). I'll be the first one to say it wasn't that cool. The tram ride up was cooler than the statue itself. Once you got to the top it was SO HOT and super crowded. Also, you were like right under the statue so there wasn't really an awesome view of it. But, like I've said before, there were plenty of cool views of the whole city! Later that evening we went to Lapa, the HUGE party district. It's entrance is marked with these big arches that were once the aqueducts of the city. There was a massive party in the street and all the surrounding buildings were big clubs. I only lasted a little while at Lapa because we had stuffed ourselves with another huge meal of beef, beans, and rice. Even just seeing Lapa was enough of an experience for me!

Our last day in Rio was strictly R&R. I beached for a bit before retreating back into the shade to nap and lounge. I also hit up the hotel pool and did a bit of last minute Christmas shopping. Our Rio adventures were everything I had hoped for - the perfect mix of tourist destinations and relaxation. I left the city feeling accomplished with our adventures, and even got a tinsy weensy tan in the process. I can safely say that I'll visit Rio again for the World Cup or the Olympics since I've already got my visa! Until then, até logo!

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag!

Yes, that's right, I just wished myself happy bday auf Deutsch on my own blog. I can't help it! I am just so excited because not only does today mark my 22nd year on the planet, but it is also my last day of work! Also, tomorrow I jet off to Rome to meet up with fellow ICPer Shane where we will adventure around for a few days before heading to Venice for a couple more days. It's my last big trip before I head back to the states - which is in 8 days by the way. Incredible how fast five months fly by! Ahh!

So birthdays in Germany are a little different than they are in the USA. Parties aren't thrown by friends for the birthday girl/boy... the birthday girl/boy throws the party for their friends. I'm not having a party, but I did bake a cake last night (carrot cake of course, and I hope it tastes as good as it smelled) and carried it all the way to work. At work people just come into my office and wish me well and eat some of my cake and are on their merry way. No fanfare, no fuss, just good efficient happy birthday wishing. It's the German way.

I've turned into the quiet girl

I've always been a talkative person. I like to have conversations, I don't like to argue. I'm the kind of person that can have a nice chat with almost anyone. Heck, I was voted "Most Outgoing" by my peers in high school.

But here in Germany, I've turned into the quiet girl. I blame this on the fact that I am currently at the frustrating point in language learning where I can understand the gist of what people are saying, but I just can't think of a gramatically correct response quick enough. Rather than speaking incorrectly, I usually just don't speak at all. I usually just nod along, peppering in a ja genau here and there.

This frustrates me. I want people to get to know me but I don't know how to do this without talking to people. I feel like my co-workers think that I'm an anti-social mute, which, if you know me, could not be further from the truth. I also like to think that I have a pretty good sense of humor, but I have no clue how to show it to people over here. My German skills aren't strong enough to tell jokes or use sarcasm (do Germans even use sarcasm?). I feel like it's been months and no one over here really knows the real me because well, I've turned into the quiet girl.

Today is August 1st which means that I've got a mere 3 weeks left in Germany. I can't believe that 5 months is almost up! I am really REALLY bummed that my ICP year got shafted with the semester conversion, thus cutting our time abroad short.  Not only do I feel like I'm not going to have my German speaking breakthrough, but I'm also missing Oktoberfest. I mean c'mon that's just cruel.

As you can tell, I'm feeling very frustrated today. RAWR. However I'm also really excited because this weekend Michelle and I are meeting up in Copenhagen! Also, I finally bought tickets for my final travels. Shane (another ICP guy) and I are going to travel to Rome and Venice before finally heading back to the states. Prepare for the fastest 3 weeks ever! Bis später!

So I've been meaning to get around to a post like this...

A couple days ago, Michelle posted a link on her blog.  I found this link highly entertaining and very spot on, and since I had been meaning to made a list of cultural observations on my own... well this one is just so all encompassing and contained so many things that I was planning on saying I'm just going to pick out my favorites my favorites and adapt them to my experiences.  Deal? Deal.

My spin on the 'What I Know About Germans' list...

6) Their babies are particularly beautiful - And their babies all speak better German than me. Very frustrating. 

13) They speak English better than most English people I know - Especially my roomie Franzi, she is an English Lit major and has better English grammar than I do.

21) Germans simply do not understand thongs/flip flops/jandals as viable footwear. Even when it’s warm and sunny. And a boot is impractical, or too warm for the feet to be comfortable. They will stare, bewildered, at thonged feet and quietly wonder if the wearer is mad - I wear sandals to work a lot.  I like my feet to breathe.  Almost every day someone makes a comment about my Sandalen. I think this is especially bizarre because Germany is home to Birkenstocks, the mother of all sandals!  But apparently Birkenstocks are just "house shoes".  When I told people how much Birkenstocks sell for in the USA they laughed! They're only about 40 euros here!

24) Germans are always prepared for the rain - This is no joke. It rains ALL THE TIME here. Sadly I lost my rain jacket so I've been really soggy lately.

27) German clubs routinely remind the world of the universality of 90s pop - And not just 90's pop, but all sorts of the most random music imaginable.  Some of my favorite randoms include "You're the One That I Want", weird techno mixes of "Country Roads", and about every N*SYNC and BSB song imaginable. It's wonderful!

32) Germans don’t tend to jay-walk. And they judge those who do - I really struggle with this one. Especially if it's raining and I'm standing rainjacketless in the rain.

52) Germans seem to really enjoy How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and crime fiction - This is so true and just cracks me uppp!

53) They love their dogs. Often their dogs catch the bus with them and sometimes their dogs even dine with them in restaurants - Speaking of German dogs... I'm not allowed to pet them and it makes me really sad. Germans are very particular about their pets and according to Franzi they don't even like it when you make googly-eyes at their dogs, let alone touch them!

67) Germany loves a public holiday. Bavaria in particular - Thank goodness for this because it has afforded me lots of opportunities to travel! Wheeee!

87) Germans can’t queue. Full stop, the end. They don’t know how, they have no interest in trying. This is the one time Germans embrace a lack of system and what happens when a queue is called for is the unfortunate culmination of Germanic forcefulness and uncertainty in the face of a system-less world. Take, for example, what happens in a supermarket when another check out line opens. Instead of calmly indicating the person at the top of the queue, yet to unload their basket onto the conveyor belt, should head up the new checkout line, there is this mad dash like a scattered flock of sheep, and your standing in the original queue becomes completely irrelevant. If you are fast enough, you can theoretically come from well behind and end up getting served before the person five people in front of you, who has been patiently waiting for 10 minutes. And no one thinks anything of it - This is THE MOST frustrating thing. Ever.

88) Germans can open a beer bottle with anything. The couch, a coffee mug, a banana. Body parts. It’s like they all secretly take a class at school when they’re eleven, in preparation for a life time of beer consumption. Next time you are with a German, hide the bottle opener and casually hand them your beer. They will flick off the top using a toothpick as if it is the most normal thing in the world - This is THE COOLEST thing. Ever. I'm trying to learn but the one time I tried with a lighter I cut my finger. Oww.

96) Germans love Spargel. They love Spargel and anything to do with Spargel, like Spargel peelers and Spargel steamers and Spargel platters. Forget Christmas or Easter or any other notable markers, the German year revolves around Spargelsaison - Sadly, I'm not a fan of the creepy whitish asparagus.

So there you have it, my take on the 'What I Know About Germans' list!  Look forward to a couple more culture posts like this before I leave.  Less than a month here in Germany - I can't believe it!

Tampere, Finland

Finland?! Yes Finland. This past weekend I hopped on another Ryanair flight and headed north to the beautiful land of lakes.  In Tampere I was met at the airport my my sweet Noora.  My family hosted Noora as a foreign exchange student during my junior year of high school.  Five years later, Noora got to return the favor and host me for a weekend in Tampere!

After another goofy flight with Ryanair (everything about this airline cracks me up - the great lengths at which one must go to reach their remote airports, the ridiculous classical music they play when boarding the plane, the obnoxious blue and yellow interior, and the celebratory bugle blow when the flight successfully lands...) Noora and her boyfriend Toni met me at the Tampere airport.  It has been about 3 years since I had last seen Noora, and she looked just as cute as ever!  Plus, she has a great boyfriend who is in a band and a super legit skier! During the ride back from the airport, we immediately started catching each other up on one another's lives.  As we drove through Tampere, I couldn't help to notice how serene and peaceful everything felt.  The beautiful scenery combined with the calm lakes and the over all lack of people made me feel very relaxed and welcomed into Noora's country.  We got back to her place (an adorable little efficency apartment - I would expect nothing less!) and headed to the supermarket to grab supplies for dinner.  The supermarket was essentially the same as German supermarkets, except for the massive fish selection.  We grabbed a slab of salmon, fresh veggies, and a loaf of bread and then headed back to Noora's place where we (mostly Toni) whipped up a delicious dinner.  Then we went for a stroll along one of the lakes near Noora's apartment and I got to experience a BEAUTIFUL Finnish sunset.  The sun sets so late in Finalnd (it's still pretty bright around 11:30pm) but the sunsets make it worth the wait!  After our stroll, we got ready for bed, watched some of the Olympic opening ceremonies (which were crazy!), and chatted until we fell asleep.

Reunited!

So yummy. So sooo sososooo yummy.

Hey beautiful sunset!

So beautifuuuul!

Toni, Noora, and I enjoying a lovely sunset!

So awesome!

Saturday was a full day of Finnish adventuring.  We woke up relatively early and headed to meet up with Toni at a bike rental place.  We got ourselves some bikes and started off towards a Finnish breakfast place where I had the absolute best rice porridge I've ever eaten.  After stuffing ourselves full of Finnish breakfast, we set out to bike around the other lake surrounding Tampere (Tampere is situated between two lakes of different elevations and mad made channels run through the city connecting the two lakes).  We biked around the whole day, seeing old factories, well-pruned parks, and an authentic gelato place.  We even biked up the tallest hill in Tampere which is home to an old watch tower and the best Munkki in the city.  We were rewarded with the best view of Tampere as well as the tastiest Munkki!

View from the top!

Munkki. It may look like your ordinary powdered donut, but its oh so much more!

Tampere is a truly beautiful city.  What it may lack in quantity (as the third largest city in Finland, Tampere rings in at about 300,000 inhabitants) it most certainly makes up with quality.  Everything is so clean and well pruned!  The buildings range from old wooden houses, to stone mansions, to brick factories, to new glass apartment complexes.  Oh, and the lakes.  Have I already mentioned the lakes?  Yes?  Oh well, I'm going to mention them again.  The lakes in Finland and clean and calm and freaking gorgeous.  I jumped into one of them.  Yes, I bought a bikini for 6€ at H&M and I jumped into a super frigid Finnish lake (Noora and Toni did too).  Then the three of us snuck into a sauna without paying!  How crazy!  I almost died in the sauna.  The only seats left were in the corner furthest from the hot rocks, so I sat up in the very corner.  Right after some older man in a very tiny speedo poured more water onto the hot rocks, Noora informed me that where I was sitting was the hottest place in the sauna.  Then the heat hit me like a wall.  I could barely breathe!  So what did I do?  Went and jumped back into the freezing lake, and then came back to the sauna where I found a better seating arrangement.  That was truly and unforgettable experience!

In the lake! Cheesin'!

After my crazy lake/sauna experience, we decided to go out for pizza.  We all ate whole pizza by ourselves, and I think with all the biking we did that we earned our pizzas fair and square.  We headed back to Noora's place and gabbed the night away.  Noora and Toni introduced me to the Finnish cartoon series Muumi, or The Moomins.  Apparently it is also a sensation in Japan.  Of course.  I can't believe Noora didn't tell me about this 5 years ago because now I'm kinda obsessed.  Just have a look:

Sunday we got up, returned our bikes, and then headed to this awesome little waffle place.  They served sweet and savory waffles.  I opted for a savory waffle and got one with salmon (when in Finland!), sour cream, and dill.  To say it was delicious would be an understatement.  Then before I knew it, I had to part ways with my Finnish sister and her awesome Finnish boyfriend and head back to Germany.  I think my favorite part of the weekend was discovering that no matter where we are, or what we are doing with our lives, Noora and I can pick up right where we left off and act just like we did back in high school - sisters. 

Just had to include a picture of this epic waffle

And last but not least, me and my beautiful Finnish sister!

Morgen Morgen!

I'm trying something new.  I'm going to try and write short, frequent posts about culture and other German randomness.  We'll see how long this lasts...

For as long as I can remember, my name has been kinda weird.  Typically, people spell MorgAn with an A, but my mother decided to be different and spell my name MorgEn.  I've become quite accustomed to people misspelling my name, it happens all the time!  In my younger years I thought my parents were just trying to be different when they named me Morgen, but then I learned the story behind my name.

My mother is named Dawn and German was her minor in college.  For those of you that know even the teeniest bit of German, you most likely know that Guten Morgen means good morning.  See the connection?  My momma named me after herself in German!  She's so clever and tricksy.  After I learned the meaning behind my weird spelling, I was always happy to tell people the reason my name is spelled the way it is.  I think it's pretty cool!

Now that I'm in Germany, I still think my name is cool, but now it's also kinda hilarious and very confusing!  You see, Germans greet each other in the morning by simply saying "morgen!" to one another.  I've got people I don't even know saying my own name to me every morning!  And not only does morgen mean morning, but it is also the word for tomorrow.  My name happens to be an extremely common word in the German language.  Half the time I'm listening to Germans talking, I don't know whether they're talking about me, the morning, or tomorrow (or tomorrow morning!).  It can get reaaallly confusing sometimes!  But despite the daily confusion, I'm really glad that I have a bit of a quirky name.  It gives me something to talk about right when I meet people.  I've got my little prepared spiel: "Hi, I'm Morgen. Yes, like 'guten morgen'. I know it's a little confusing.  My mom is named Dawn, so she named me after herself in German!".  Boom.  Right off the bat I have something I feel confident saying in German, and sometimes I get a little laugh out of whoever I'm talking to. 

So thanks for the goofy name Mim :)

p.s. I LEAVE FOR LONDON TODAY AHHHHH!