Steve

Steve lying on bottom bunk:

"ya know i really wish that anna would dump her fricking boyfriend man"

Alex:
"err steve"

Steve:
"yo"

Alex:
"shes right above you"

Steve jumping out of bed and turning to the top bunk:
"E'llo love"

Tallinn

Anyone for Estonia?

From Berlin for only 40€ roundtrip!

I'm thinking maybe Feb. 4th-6th.


GWoD Reisen - to travel

Rigaaaaaaaaaa

Latvia is very cold(-10 c).

24 hr. in Riga

9:30 Arrived in Riga
“Wow, this is a nice airport”

10:00 Got on bus going towards city center.
“Wow, this is a nice bus.”

10:30 Visit large statue of Vladimir Lenin
“I was expect Latvia to be a little more ... you know ... impoverished.”*

11:00 Walked around sight seeing in old city center.
Architecture in the historic center of Riga: Northern Europe, Gothic, and Modernism.
Stopping occasionally for food and coffee, and sadly yes including one Big Mac.

14:00 Decided that Riga was overrated

14:30 Found large market full of Latvian goods
Decided Latvia was better

16:00 Found ourselves in the outskirts of town away from tourist Latvia.
Decided Latvia was very cool again

16:30 Stopped in to a small dark bar for a beer.
Great place where locals were friendly, offering cheers ‘Prieka!’, and drinking glasses of strait vodka.

18:00 Went to the circus
The Riga Cirk is 108 old. It is hard to describe how cool the circus was. By modern standards this circus might seem a little pathetic, but being a small circus, ten rows of seats around a small ring, it provided a feeling for Baltic history. As a added bonus the rope dancing lady blew a kiss to ME, not Alex.

20:30 Began walk to Lido
Having marked the location of Lido on the map we began what became an expedition to dinner. After the first hundred meters the sidewalk ended and we followed the equivillant of a cow path through 12” snow, in the cold, dark night.

21:30 Arrived at Lido
Lido came highly recommended by locals for having cheap Latvian food. As it turned out it was a franchised Latvian restaurant, but still fun to see as it was huge and packed. Also a clue to the state of Latvian commerce, were 75% of economy is service driven.

23:00 Returned by bus to Center.
I would have walked, but since the bus was there…

24:00 Found fun local bar to regroup for the homestretch.

2:00 Entered club, Roxy.
Roxy was an interesting experience. Upon entering we were passed by the bouncer who was ejecting a patron and also using the opportunity to beat the guy up. No problems, we headed for the coat check.
The drink of choice for the evening was strait vodka, I dislike vodka, but when in Rome on a budget.

The dance mix constituted of the same music you can hear in every dance club the world round, top 40, but still a good time was to be had while dancing. One of my highlights for the evening was being completely blown off by “sparkly bosoms” after much dancing. Although the fact that I don’t speak Latvian or Russian, and she didn’t speak English or German might have had something to do with it.

Other points to note:
Alex was detained in the bathroom by the huge bouncer, who stole $20 from him. After hearing the story I took Alex to the bar and purchased him another vodka to drown his sorrows.

Jeremy made friends with a local who thought it was funny to continually pat him on the back. This was funny.

I did strike up one successful conversation with a girl, real confidence builder, only to be knocked back down when she told me I could go home with her for $150. I politely declined, but only after asking if she would give discounted rate to such a good looking guy.

6:30 Made it out of Roxy with our lives and with out any STDs

6:35 Alex got sick in the park
Me punching him in the stomach probably didn’t help.

6:37 Alex recovered

7:00 Caught cab
I was determined to find the bus at this time despite having no idea were to catch it. Alex insisted on the cab, and paid. I later agreed that another hour in the cold, plus possibly missing our flight was not worth $10 saved.

10:00 Said good by to Latvia as plane took of for Berlin



GPoD: Warum ist Lettland nicht arm? – Why is Latvia not broke?



*As it turns out Latvia's transitional economy recovered from the 1998 Russian crisis, largely due to the previous government's budget stringency and a gradual reorientation of exports toward EU countries, lessening Latvia's trade dependency on Russia. The majority of companies, banks, and real estate have been privatised. GDP per capita is $10,000(ppp) with a sustained growth rate of around 7% for the last four years! The high current account deficit remains a major concern. (CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia)

Thanksgiving

Upon inviting friends to thanksgiving dinner they happily accepted and then asked what thanksgiving was. As it was their first thanks giving we had a traditional dinner of: rotisserie chicken from the imbis down the street, canned green beans, and mashed potatoes. Yum.

GWo(yester)D: Erntedankfest - Thannksgiving (Harvest-thank-fest)

Next

Hmmmm....

Where to go this weekend?

Turkish Food

..is great.
Turkish pizza hot out of the oven.
Lamb cooked over coals.
Fried anchovy sandwiches.
Turkish spices are amazing.
Turkish water, don't touch it.

Getting Around in Turkey

Option 3: Mini Bus
The Mini-Bus is Adam Smith meets public transportation. On the over crowded bus lines these mini-bus drivers have appointed themselves to fill the void. They have all the perks of the big bus, but none of the bothering rules and responsibilities of a civil employee.

Getting Around in Turkey

Option 2: Bus
Living in Germany, the land of schedules, maps, and plans, I havebecome a little bit spoiled. I now, like the locals become a littledisgruntled when the bus is more than a minute and a half late.
The first challenge was to find the right bus. With no routes or mapavailable it was hard to decide whether to embark bus 4Td or bus 395. Answers to questions like 'Bus, Taksim' would generate answers ofnumbers and letters spit at rate that made them difficult tounderstand. When accomplishing the task of deciphering the correctbus, don't bother asking when it comes. The answer to this questionwas: 'When it comes.'
When the bus does come by the 'bus stop' it does notexactly behave in a normal manner. Turkish bus routes are comparableto rally races. The bus will sit at the starting station until thedriver is good and prepared to leave. At which point he begins hisrace to the end station. Hints the problem with the 'bus stop' becausethe bus does not exactly stop. The drive will open the door as thebus approaches then slow and look out to see if any of the bystandersare interested in his wares (this is the point that you run up to thebus and jump on) and then he is off again. The bus did come to acomplete stop one time, but this was a special occasion that thedriver had some business to take care of and left the bus for a fewminutes. It was all I could do to avoid the temptation to take thebus and run the race my self.

Getting around in Turkey

Option 1: Taxi
Taxis are everywhere and will happily take you everywhere. What does however make them more interesting is the fair. While you have the option to use the meter, but if your savvy to the rate to get from point A to B you haggle. This was a great experience. With the leadership of the beautiful Carina, a hard barginer with the cab drivers, we saved tens of millions on cabs rides.

Another note on the is cabs that when you are not using the meter the drivers try to get you where your going, fast. Imagine the comfort provide weaving through traffic with the engine redlined in the Turkish version of a Fiat. The best of which was provided by the cab driver who, after a lengthy haggle, wanted to prove to us that he could make it back to our hotel for 5 mil on the meter. The cab did not come to a stop for the entire ride home. After driving the wrong way down 2 one-way streets, and running three red lights, the worst of which involved passing the stopped cars on their left to make a right turn at a light, we were home. The meter: 5,200,000, we won.

Turkish Money

Making my first million: Yes, I made my first million on Saturday after exchanging Euros toTurkish Lira. 1:1,880,000 This was very complicated for the first dayof trying to differentiate between bills stating 1000000 and 10000000 or 500000 and 5000000. (No comas used on the bills either)

Capitalism and Outsourcing

For all of you who would be classified as protectionist, here is a little story of life in a protecting country without free trade and outsourcing. This morning I woke up early to run a quick errand to the hardware store to get a part with which to fix our leaky sink. (I broke it the night before) Upon arriving at the big box store (like Home Depot) I quickly found the part I needed; a short pipe connecting the bottom of the sink to the U pipe with an extra point to connect the drain from the washing machine on the side. I grabbed and was about to head to the checkout when I noticed that this particular piece of junk cost almost $20 US! I then look for cheaper substitutes that may not of been handcrafted from gold but everything was ridiculously priced. This particular piece would have run some where between ninety cents and a buck fifty at home.

Problem:

1. There was not as second big box across the street helping to force the price to be competitive.

and

2. The part was a fine piece of German craftsmanship made by highly skilled labour.

GpoD: In Deutschland gemacht - Made in Germany



Turkey stories to come

What to do this Weekend

Yesterday morning I was thinking that this would be a quite weekend having not put together any big plans.

Yesterday afternoon I received a invitation from a friendly English chap to go here.

Later that afternoon that invitation was trumped.

As of this morning I will be spending my weekend here.

Bis Diemstag,

Will


GPoD: Auf Wiedersehen - Until Seeing Again

And Ther’ll Be No More Pissin’ in Me Garten

……unsere Grünfläche und den Hof nicht als Toilette benutzen. .... Diese ist nicht hygienischen. .... Danke, Hausmeister

Der Toilette: do
The lift the seat up and put it back down rule has been taken to the next level in Germany: women have forbidden all vertical peeing by and large! Yes this means that men have to such up their dignity and sit to pee. In my previous dorm residence I had no problem completely ignoring this rule, but alas as my new house is cosier, I have obliged.

Der Hof:
An added benefit to most German buildings is that they all include courtyards on the inside that are in sense private parks for the residents of the building. These courtyards also serve as a place to store the garbage bins and bikes. Mine is a plain courtyard with a bit of shrubbery, but with large a grass area.

Die Kombination:
When I came home late one night I decided it would be polite to not to wake my roommates up buy crashing around in the bathroom, flushing the toilet, etc., and relieve myself in the courtyard. This also provided me the opportunity to reassert my manhood by both standing to pee and marking territory. Being from Kansas, a place with many large open spaces, this seemed innocent enough.

Die Beachtung:
Translation of the note found in the entryway:
… Our green space and the courtyard are not to be used as a toilette. …. This is not sanitary. …. Thanks, The Housemaster

I resisted the urge to educate the housemaster to the fact that urine is one of the most sterile of natural substances.* So once again I must tuck my tail, and comply with the German way of life. (Or at least when my roommates are at home!)

GpoD:
Mann sollte den Regeln während in Deutschland folgen. – When in Germany you should follow the rules.


*This fact is conformable here. Also from the same googling** came this site which seems like a far more legitimate source to me.

**Yes ‚to google’ is now officially a verb confirmable by Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English here.

Breaking News

I have just received an e-mail from WSU stating that I have been nominated for the: "2005 Honor Men and Women Award"! I'm so excited I could spit! Now, if I only knew what it was. I sure hope I win (I sure hope it's not grade related)!

Karneval update:
On the first day of Karneval women cut the tie of every man they meet after 11am, but mostly the party is only held in Köln

GPoD Wünschen mich Glück - Wish me luck

Stats

USA Germany % Change Black Coffee Drunk* 7 7 0% Cups per Week Specialty Coffee Drunk** .01 4 39900% Cups per Week Tea Drunk*** .005 6 11900% Cups per Week Beer Drunk**** 1 5 400% Liters per Week Distance Walked***** <1 10 900% Kilometers per Day Döners Consumed****** 0 3 + Eaten per Week Red Meat Consumed******* 3 0 -100% Pounds per Week Proper Eng. Conversations******** 200 5 -95% number per Week Broken Eng.********* <1 100 + number per Week German*********** 0 50 + number per Week McDonalds Meals*********** 0 .5 + number per Week

* Coffee is good here!
** Latte Macchiato
*** We have a Wasserkoche (electric kettle) in the apartment and one roommate obsessed with tea
**** Beers can also substitute meals in Germany (1.5 lt recommended for 1 meal)
***** It is amazing how much you walk when you have no car
****** Döner - sadly unavailable in Wichita
******* I had one steak here: Ribeye. The butcher promised me it was the best meat available in the world, imported from Argentina. I almost gagged. Sorry to Tinians but you can't compete. The location also may have had something to do with it.
******** Best guess
********* You can sometimes be better understood when not complicating things
********** 50% of which go astray
*********** McD's is 'cool' here and not just talking speaking screaming children. I usually opt for 1 original cheeseburger.

GPoD Ich Liebe Es - I'm Lovin' It (Although not as slangy, it is literally: I Love It)
----or

Wenn wir dort noch einmal essen müssen, denke ich, dass ich krank sein werde! - If we have to eat there one more time I think I will be ill!

Yeah, It's Carnival

Yesterday I was sitting in the kitchen and at exactly 11:11 my roommate jumped out of here chair and yelled "Er ist Carnival!!" I was mildly shocked and soon recovered, but not before she left the room. I have not yet figured out what exactly this Carnival entails but will keep you posted.


GPoD Gee Shaggy, Ich denke, dass wir ein Mysterium haben! - Gee Shaggy, I think we have a mystery!

The Wall

Yesterday was the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Here is a bit of the enduring effect of a divided city:

During my first trip to Berlin, I lived in the West:

Old Home Here


Life was pleasant there. In the vicinity of my dorm was an affluent neighbourhood, a quite little bar down the street, a large park where families and ‘extreme walkers’ went to merrily play and happy little chain type stores selling their goods. Something had to be done!

Now I live in the East:

New Home Here

Life here is cool. At my local train station permanently live a small assemblage of bums, who constantly are begging for half used tickets then reselling them. They also have very good knowledge of the mass transit system. The day time stores are all more independent proprietorships; a corner baker, a imbiss restaurant, used book store, sushi restaurant, etc. My neighbourhood is also full of punks. You may think this sounds like trouble in truth they are good kids doing there best to keep the Nazis out. The buildings would be grey if it were not for the massive amounts of graffiti supplied by these civil servants. Most entertaining are the night spots. There are enough coffee shops surrounding my apartment to put Starbucks to shame and there are small pubs where you can find any mix of music you heart might desire, all while serving that liquid gold that Germany is famous for.


GPoD Nein, zum hundertste mal, ich ein Fahrkarte habe aber wie ich nach U-Bahnhof Berliner Str. komm? – No, for the hundredth time, I have a ticket, but how can I get to Berliner Street Station from here?

I will post pictures as soon as possible.

FHW Semester Party or 13 Hours of Madness

Horrible nausea when I woke this morning.

Diagnosis:

6:45 In bed
6:00 Walked directly home
5:59 Reviewed map
5:57 Realized I was nowhere near my home
5:45 Walked directly opposite of the direction of my home
5:44 Arrived at S-Bahn(fast train) station Warschauer Str.
5:37 Decided not to make an extra transfer and instead take a short sobering walk by going to Warschauer Str.
5:32 Boarded S-Bahhn
5:30 Ate Dürum Döner(Döner is a fine Turkish treat available all over Berlin)
5:29 He agreed and sold it to me at chicken price: 20 EUR cents back in my pocket!
5:28 Told Mr. Shark behind the counter that it was ridiculous to pay more for Döner meat (elephant leg) than a chicken when his chicken meat was better; my German get much more articulate with beer.
5:27 Ordered Döner
5:26 Heart broken; Mr. Shark has sold all of his chicken for the day.
5:10 Went to purchase Shark Chicken Dürum: the second best in Berlin, trailing to Habani's tradition Dürum Döner made lamb steak as opposed to elephant leg.
5:09 Arrived at Friedrich Str. bahnhof
5:00 Said good bye to friend and boarded train
4:59 Train arrives (I was born under lucky star)
4:58 Arrive at U-bahn station (subway)
4:50 Leave Silverwings
11:00 Find Silverwings for FHW (my school) semester party. The semester party is a biannual event at witch you display your camaraderie by buying beers for your fellows and they in turn buy beer for you. There is loud music, dancing and so forth. Things quickly get out off hand: what fun! To all the ladies who where awed by my crippled leg dancing moves I can be reached at: 017629047117. I am sorry I did not have time to give you each the hours of attention you deserved, but time is limited.
10:50 Emerge from U-Bahn station at which point three of us point three different direction thinking we know where the club is, having been there last semester. This foreshadows the sort of event it is. I like to think my point was correct being within 90 degrees of the direction of the club.
10:30 Leave for Silverwings (All clubs in Berlin have trendy websites - www.silverwings.de)
9:30 Eat diner, Pasta with Salmon white sauce, very tasty: thank you Carina.
6:30 Go to Jeremy(Aussie) and Carina's(Roosky) for dinner
6:22 Meet Alex at Zoo bahnhof.
6:21 Walk by Alex at Zoo bahnhof not recognizing him as he is wearing a tie, slacks, loafers, and long coat: as opposed to grunge T-shit, torn jeans, Vans and sweatbands that I though were permanently attached to his wrist. Way to look respectable Alex.
6:20 Arrive at Zoo with empty beer bottle
5:49 Examine pockets and count 47 cent.
5:48 Enter Plus to purchase two beers only to find that the cheapest beer they have cost 28 cents plus 8 cent deposit: extortion!
5:46 Decide it would be friendly to meet Alex with a Beer for him
5:45 Left house to meat friend Alex(Brit) at train station.


Moral of the story:


As the Italians insist, you should never eat fish with milk. It will upset your stomach.

Language Barrier

Yesterday we had a “guest lecturer” in strategic management class: being evaluated for a position a teaching position at my school. He was very excited and had a lot of material for us. From the start of class he was off; rattling out his planned lecture, only pausing for have second intervals to breath. Every time one of the students would raise his hand he would look at them and tell them that he would take questions in a moment. After fifteen minutes of this an Australian stood up and said, “Sorry mate I don’t speak German.” The lecturer looked at the faces of agreement from my fellow classmates. He spoke with review panel about having no English handouts or material, they then went to look for another class to captivate. We were relieved for the day.

GpoD -- Entschuldigung Mate, ich nicht Deutsch spreche. = Sorry Mate, I don’t speak German.

There is a clock on every street corner in Berlin. However....

No one bothered to tell me that they have this wacky thing called daylight saving time in Germany. 1 hour early to class! A fellow student informed me that as of Sunday we were on Winterzeit.

GWoD Winterzeit = wintertime