Happy Easter everybody!

Doesn't this look much better than Mom's first attempt???

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Mom took care of the cake this year.

Xenophobe's guide to the Germans I

How they see others
...The Germans admire Americans for their (un-German) easy-going pragmatism and dislike them for their (un-German) superficiality. For the Germans, the United States is the headmaster in the school of nations, and accorded due respect if not always affection. Germans are strong believers in authority. "If you know how to obey then you too can be a master" runs the refrain.
If experience has taught them one thing, it is that there is no future outside the community of nations. No other nation has a stronger sense of the importance of getting along with others. Tolerance is not only a virtue, it's a duty...

How they see themselves
...Generally speaking, the Germans regard themselves as modest, rather ordinary sort of people. Give them a beer, a wurst, a bit of cosiness and another German with whom to argue politics or bemoan the stress of life, and they will be content. They are not greedy, do not expect something for nothing, and pay their bills on time. Simple, honest folk...
...They see themselves as profoundly well educated. Contrary to popular belief, the Germans do not know everything, they just know everything better...

How others see them
...The emotions which Germans arouse in others oscillate between admiration and fear - they are said to be either "at your knees or at your throat". They are thought of as efficient, self-obsessed, arrogant and domineering - altogether too good at finance and manufacturing...

How they would like others to see them
...The Germans long to be understood and liked by others, yet secretly take pride that this can never be...
...The Germans would like to be respected for their devotion to truth and honesty. They are surprised that this is sometimes taken as tactlesness or worse. After all, if I know you to be in error, surely it is my duty to correct you? Surely the Thruth is more important than pretending to like your ghastly shirt? Foreigners just cannot seem to appreciate this...

to be continued

What does the artist want to express??? - Part II

I know you could hardly contain yourselves and I thank you for your patience.

This, folks, is my absolutely favorite and the most EYE-catching and it's called

Me gardening at school.

(Although I think PopEye or BigFoot would fit better. Well I guess PopFoot or BigEye or even BigPopFootEye would work too?

However my width and height ratio skills really need to improve.)

Lowest bid: € 250,- ($ 300,-)

What does the artist want to express??? - Part I

Well it's time for a new something out of my life.

And this time it will even be in English (How cool is that?)

While rambling through some old, well almost ancient files today, I happened to find some precious drafts from when I was younger. A whole lot younger!

The person in the picture is supposed to be me, believe it or not (well better believe it because it really is) while

Helping Mommy with the dishes.

Since many artists always come up with a funky interpretation of what their work of art ought to be I think I have to give an explanation as well. So what can I tell you about the picture below?

Ummm.......to be honest not much.

The first impression after looking at it for the first time after who-knows-how-many years was "That's indescribably.........well........S C A R Y." It's like watching a bad accident. You don't want to look at it but you HAVE to for some mysterious reason.

But after overcoming the first shock and looking at it more specifically I noticed the beauty of it. The hidden beauty. Okay perhaps my arms look a little longer than they really are and I'm not quite sure what happened to my hands compared to the cups in the sink. But I mean, come on, have you ever seen flowers that are more beautiful than these? And look at my blouse. You have to admit that this is kind of cute, isn't it?

And I do look really healthy based on the color of my cheeks. I'm pretty sure that's because of the school milk we were forced to drink every day.

Okay, I want you to take a moment of silence with me to honor this magnificent piece of art.........................Thank you!

Stay tuned folks! There's more art coming up.

Deutschland, deine Ämter!

Wisst ihr eigentlich, wie schwer es ist, heutzutage auf irgendwelchen Ämtern Informationen zu bekommen. Ein solches Beispiel von Inkompetenz möchte ich anhand des nachfolgenden Dialoges wiedergeben:

Ich: Guten Tag, ich möchte gerne Informationen über Studierende und deren Anspruch auf Arbeitslosengeld II erhalten.
Empfangsdame: Ihre Postleitzahl, bitte.
Ich: Das ist die 09130 in Chemnitz. Aber eigentlich wohne ich in Erfurt und möchte nur allgemeine Informationen über das ALG II haben und mich nicht anmelden.
Empfansdame: Da sind sie hier aber falsch, da müssen sie sich direkt in Erfurt an die Agentur für Arbeit wenden.
Ich: Ja, mir ist bekannt, dass ich den Antrag nicht in Chemnitz stellen kann, wenn sich mein Hauptwohnsitz in Erfurt befindet. Ich möchte hier ja auch keinen Antrag stellen, sondern nur wissen, ob sich ein kundiger Sachbearbeiter im Haus befindet, dem ich Fragen stellen kann.
Empfangsdame: Ich kann Sie jetzt nicht hier einfach so durch unser Haus schicken. Gehen Sie doch bitte zur Elsässer Straße 7. Dort wird ihre Postleitzahl bearbeitet.
Ich: (mit einem hörbar ironischen Unterton) Vielen Dank für ihre Hilfe. Auf Wiedersehen.

Nachdem ich mehrmals versucht hatte, der Tante auf dem Amt mein Anliegen zu schildern und sie mich auch beim dritten Mal noch nicht verstanden hatte oder mich einfach auch nicht verstehen wollte, hab ich dann irgendwann genervt aufgegeben. Dieser Besuch hatte sich wieder einmal voll gelohnt.

Das Leben ist schön

Drei Monate Semesterferien sind nun leider schon vorüber und gestern habe ich mich frohen Mutes auf den Weg nach Erfurt begeben. An Bord meines Fahrzeugs befanden sich diverse Gebrauchsgegenstände um mein Überleben an jenem schönen Ort zu sichern sowie zahlreiche Pflänzlein (manchmal brauch man einfach jemanden zum Reden) und natürlich noch eine Essensration, liebevoll von der Mutti eingepackt und ausreichend für eine ganze Fußballmannschaft. In Erfurt angekommen überfiel mich sogleich die erste Panikattacke. Der Schlüssel zur Haustür schien seltsamerweise nicht mehr zu passen. Und komischerweise hab ich mein Namensschild am Briefkasten auch nicht mehr gefunden. Verwundert stellte ich mir die Frage, was hier wohl passiert war. Na gut, ich war schon ein paar Wochen nicht mehr hier gewesen aber muss man denn gleich zu so drastischen Maßnahmen greifen und mich ungefragterweise ausquartieren? So war guter Rat teuer. Ich versuchte mich nochmals zu sammeln und Antworten auf die Vielzahl der Fragen, die mir durch den Kopf schossen, zu erlangen. Plötzlich fiel es mir wie Schuppen aus den Haaren. Fälschlicherweise befand ich mich am Nachbareingang. (Nächstes Mal sollte ich wohl meine Hausnummer auswendig lernen.)
So weit so gut. Nachdem ich den ersten Schock überwunden hatte, bemühte ich mich darum, auf schnellstem Wege meinen ganzen Kram ins zweite Geschoss zu hieven. (Heute morgen dachte ich mir dann, dass ich wohl lieber nicht den schnellsten Weg hätte wählen sollen. Mein Rücken dankte es mir mit einer schmerzhaften Zerrung.) Nachdem dann alles mehr oder weniger an seinem alten Platz stand, begann ich, mich mental auf mein Studium am nächsten Tag einzustellen. Es wäre nur wirklich großartig gewesen, wenn mich irgendjemand darüber informiert hätte, dass das Studium erst nächste Woche wieder anfängt. Man hätte ja wenigstens eine Information im Internet hinterlassen können. Aber so sind die Sozis.
Alles in allem könnte man diese Aktion unter dem Motto "sinnlos" verbuchen. Na ja, wenigstens bin ich in den Genuss gekommen, mal wieder eine Nacht in meinem wunderbar bequemen Bett in Erfurt zu schlafen (verglichen mit meinem B(r)ett zu Hause) und so habe ich auch noch eine Woche Schonfrist, in der ich meine Hausarbeiten beendigen kann. Das Leben ist schön!

An oyster's life

"One of life's most costly and beautiful objects is born out of pain and irritation - the pearl. A tiny piece of sand slips into an oyster's shell and begins to rub against the soft tissue, causing irritation. In response to the irritation, the oyster produces a hard substance. This substance eventually develops into one of the world's most beautiful jewels - a lovely luminous pearl. In fact, the greater the irritation, the more valuable the pearl!"

This little story is from the book "Lady in Waiting" by Debbie Jones and Jackie Kendall. The chapter basically talks about the trials and irritations of a woman that come with not being married. But a woman has to realize that God has them there to create something beautiful inside her and to make her ready for a relationship in the future. But this story offers a lot more.

While reading, a lot of other thoughts ran through my mind. This story should not only be limited to the fact of singleness.
How often do we have to face trials and ask God "Why did this happen to me?","Don't You love me anymore?""You seem to be so far away."
To be honest, I would assume this happens almost every day. And the times of joy and happiness seem to be too few. Well let me tell you something. There will never be a time that you don't worry about something in your life. Sometimes it's a co-worker that annoys you or you're worried about a family member or you're just not happy with some things that happen in your life. The whole trick is to delight in those apparently hopeless times.
I know, life can be sooo unfair. But regardless of all the things you have to struggle with please try to remember that trials are necessary and we should even be happy about them. Like James said

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Wow, sounds great, doesn't it?
But sometimes the temptations seem so hard that we're often afraid to fail. Don't worry and listen to what Paul has to say in 1. Corinthians:

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

Man, I like that verse. We will "not be tempted beyond what we can bear". That means we can be sure that nothing will be too hard in life that we won't find a way out of that difficult situation. The Lord will be there for us, every single minute for the rest of our lives.

Now back to the little story at the beginning. Just imagine that the oyster is you and the tiny piece of sand is one of your struggles. It infiltrates your life and begins to "rub" inside of you. It causes irritations such as physical or mental problems. So it's about time to find a way out of that situation, time to produce a "substance" that helps to go through the trial. If you don't know what to do, ask God and trust Him to show you the way. At the end you will find yourself matured I promise and you'll also begin to realize that the harder the trial the stronger you became. Perhaps as strong as the pearl in the oyster.

Unbelievable!

Finally the summer is back in Germany as you can see

in the picture I took this morning somewhere in no man's land.

So I dedicate today's warmest regards to the sunshine

and I hope it will remain for the next couple of weeks.