It's the middle of summer. My project is doing it's best impersonation of a inanimate object. Did I mention it was summer? So I went in search of cheerier things. Like good books. And froyo. (For the English slang challenged: froyo --> frozen yogurt) One of the two was easy to find. The other, was not.
Guesses? Probably to no surprise, I found books easily. The whole liking reading things, means I would be basically happy with any book I laid a hand on. Which is a bit troublesome, because I end up trying to figure out which book I like the most out of the many good selections possible.
Conveniently the book stores in Germany have set traps for people like me. They have all this comfortable, inviting seating in their bookstores making it "ok" to take rather extensive.. previews.. of the books. Which of course just makes you want to buy them more- cause you'd feel really guilty if you just sat there and read the entire book in the store, right? Well that's how it worked for me. (I escaped, for those worried, without becoming too much of a sucker- though now I am quite a bit more on guard. At least I hope I am.)
Finding froyo was much more difficult. Like any American, I went to the grocery store, since you don't have to pay nearly as much. And the selection is supposedly better. From my brief encounter with the frozen desert section of German grocery stores, I would say this is sadly not the case. I was hard pressed to find ANY sort of ice cream/gelato/sorbet not to mention froyo. All I did find was one tiny pack of popsicles. Which is completely bonkers since people here must eat ice cream sometime.. right? Maybe not. And in the long run, it was probably better that I was unsuccessful. But I have this really bad craving for lemon sorbet right now... Hopefully my new book will be distracting enough to make me forget all about it. :)
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
One Fish, Two Fish...
The Hamburg fish market has come to Stuttgart. It is absolutely nothing like I was expecting it to be.
While it did have the same contents: stands selling fish products (cooked into meals or raw) as well as other vendors (like drinks and ice cream) it was presented in a completely unique way. I'm really glad I took some pictures, since there isn't really anyway to describe this and give it justice. Let's just say, they take their fish really seriously. (but not themselves) And it shows. Dinner tonight was delicious.
While it did have the same contents: stands selling fish products (cooked into meals or raw) as well as other vendors (like drinks and ice cream) it was presented in a completely unique way. I'm really glad I took some pictures, since there isn't really anyway to describe this and give it justice. Let's just say, they take their fish really seriously. (but not themselves) And it shows. Dinner tonight was delicious.
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| Super fancy, fish themed stands lined the square |
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| The goal: Out decorate all your neighbors |
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| I cleverly ordered by pointing at something that looked tasty |
How Fresh is Your Fruit?
I had always thought 'fresh fruit' was sort of standard. I mean, how different could fruit that was just grown really be? I have to say though, I have never before had a package of strawberries start juicing themselves simply by being against the side of my shopping bag.
Although the pink stain does kind of stand out on a blue bag, at least my whole room now smells like strawberries. I don't think that's a bad trade off at all. (They taste really good too, in case you're wondering)
Although the pink stain does kind of stand out on a blue bag, at least my whole room now smells like strawberries. I don't think that's a bad trade off at all. (They taste really good too, in case you're wondering)
Appreciating Life
Not all water is created equal. For example, water in London was really, really terrible. I actually think I may have ended up thirstier after drinking their tap water. A rather impressive feat. Needless to say, I was relieved to be back in Germany where the tap water was actually drinkable.
My body also seemed to finally let go, as I sat down to write some posts and woke up 6 hours later. I guess I was maaaaybe a little tired.
My body also seemed to finally let go, as I sat down to write some posts and woke up 6 hours later. I guess I was maaaaybe a little tired.
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| I definitely was appreciating my early morning flight |
I've Just Seen a Face, I Can't Forget the Time or Place...
As the not having luggage problem was reaching beyond the point of mild annoyance, we redoubled our efforts to find the wayward baggage by going alllll the way back out to the airport. Turns out, they did have our bags. On the other side of customs. Which meant going back through security. Whopee. (Luckily, we did find the bags amidst the sea of other 'lost' luggage)
With baggage safely secured, we resumed our more normal touristy activities. Today being a little colder, we decided we were up for the outdoors. After taking a brief walk through Harrods, (I mean, who wouldn't?) we wound our way through Hyde park toward Buckingham Palace. The guards do really stomp around quite impressively. They also scratch their noses. We were convinced it was a form of secret code. What they could be discussing though, eluded us.
After taking in the royal presence, we went to St. Paul's Cathedral to feel divine presence. (It is Sunday) We may have also been going to an organ concert. And that cathedral had wonderful acoustics. The organ sounded... I don't even know. I normally will just sit and listen to organ music regardless of location, but I almost felt transported to somewhere else as I sat under the dome for the concert.
Since we were "in the area" we poked our heads over towards the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. (There is some bridge in London somewhere, super specific- I know, that used to put heads of criminals and enemies on spikes to warn off people. But I totally don't remember where anymore. I had thought it was Tower Bridge, but that bridge wasn't built til like the 1840s) We timed our visit perfectly since we even got to see the bridge open!
As a final goodbye to London, we went up in the London eye just as the sun began to set. It was beautiful watching the sky grow purple and see all the lights turn on. Especially the lights for Big Ben.
With baggage safely secured, we resumed our more normal touristy activities. Today being a little colder, we decided we were up for the outdoors. After taking a brief walk through Harrods, (I mean, who wouldn't?) we wound our way through Hyde park toward Buckingham Palace. The guards do really stomp around quite impressively. They also scratch their noses. We were convinced it was a form of secret code. What they could be discussing though, eluded us.
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| These are GIANT meringues |
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| There were a lot of flowers in Hyde Park |
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| The clock tower is really impressive |
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| This cathedral is so large it doesn't fit in my picture |
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| The moat doesn't seem to be kept up as a useful defense anymore |
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| It looks heavy. I'm glad they no longer have to hand crank it |
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| The giant bicycle wheel.. er Behold! The London Eye! |
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| I particularly like seeing Big Ben at night |
To Find Luggage or Not To Find Luggage
I'm in London! Which is really exciting, since I've wanted to visit London since... forever. It's totally cliche, and overdone everywhere in literature and TV/Movies, but I don't care at all. I actually can't really explain it either. Strange.
As a nice welcome to London, the flight was delayed by 2 hours. Now I know it's not really the airport's fault that a plane had to catch on fire (no one was on board, luckily) but it is really, really inconvenient when you're trying not to miss your midnight tickets to A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe.
It's even more annoying when you go to pick up your luggage and after waiting for an hour or so, they finally tell everyone waiting around that the baggage return system has shut down, and will not be resuming. Basically, a whole bunch of people aren't going to get their stuff til.. well no one really knows when.
Momentarily putting aside the baggage woes, we went off to see what we could of the play. (I mean, what else were you going to do.. and it's Shakespeare. So really, a no-brainer) Thanks to a really awesome cabby, we got from the airport to the theatre in record time, just making it in before intermission. The performance and atmosphere were absolutely amazing, so if you ever have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it.
When we woke up in the morning (taking a bit of a late start after the midnight showing of the play) the bags were.. still no where to be found. On top of that everyone was doing the same thing and crashing their systems (both web and phone) so we just gave up and went out to see the city.
Our initial plans to walk around outside were overwritten when we discovered that we were in the middle of a heat wave. Improvising a little, we ended up at the British Museum, notable for it's crazy foyer architecture and housing the Rosetta Stone. I had never really gotten what was so great about some stone, but looking at the 3 different languages carved into it basically right next to each other, I came to a bit of an understanding of how useful it would be to help decipher something that honestly didn't even resemble any known written language.
Walking back from the museum, we passed through Covent Garden, a place that used to be the center of flower selling, but is now both a shopping mall and open market. Continuing our meandering walking tour, we wound our way down toward the Thames and walked along the river front enjoying live music from a swing dance group.
To top off our enjoyable evening out, we went to our second theatrical performance: (quite a bit different from the first) Spamalot. It's a musical. It's based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It's got SPAM. It's got improv funny enough to crack up the actors. I'm not sure anything else really needs to be said.
As a nice welcome to London, the flight was delayed by 2 hours. Now I know it's not really the airport's fault that a plane had to catch on fire (no one was on board, luckily) but it is really, really inconvenient when you're trying not to miss your midnight tickets to A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe.
It's even more annoying when you go to pick up your luggage and after waiting for an hour or so, they finally tell everyone waiting around that the baggage return system has shut down, and will not be resuming. Basically, a whole bunch of people aren't going to get their stuff til.. well no one really knows when.
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| Every person in this picture is missing their bags |
Momentarily putting aside the baggage woes, we went off to see what we could of the play. (I mean, what else were you going to do.. and it's Shakespeare. So really, a no-brainer) Thanks to a really awesome cabby, we got from the airport to the theatre in record time, just making it in before intermission. The performance and atmosphere were absolutely amazing, so if you ever have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it.
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| You felt like you were watching the play with a huge literary family |
Our initial plans to walk around outside were overwritten when we discovered that we were in the middle of a heat wave. Improvising a little, we ended up at the British Museum, notable for it's crazy foyer architecture and housing the Rosetta Stone. I had never really gotten what was so great about some stone, but looking at the 3 different languages carved into it basically right next to each other, I came to a bit of an understanding of how useful it would be to help decipher something that honestly didn't even resemble any known written language.
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| It was like being outside, but without wind, sun or litter |
Walking back from the museum, we passed through Covent Garden, a place that used to be the center of flower selling, but is now both a shopping mall and open market. Continuing our meandering walking tour, we wound our way down toward the Thames and walked along the river front enjoying live music from a swing dance group.
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| As a tourist, I am obligated to take this photo |
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| London has many weird looking pedestrian bridges |
Learning to Drive
Today we went on a tour of the super computing lab. I could tell from the beginning that I was going to like this tour. I mean, it has 'computing' in the name of the lab. How could you possibly go wrong?
To start off, we got to look at the actual machines. Which, according to the engineers, aren't really the interesting part. I mean it's just a whole bunch of computers connected on a special network placed in really close proximity in a fairly freezing room. That has lots of locked doors. While I agree that what you can do with super computers is probably a lot more exciting, it's still pretty cool to see it all set up. :D
After seeing the machines we got to experience some of their computing power in the CAVE, a virtual environment that used 3D projections on 5 walls of a cube combined with 3D glasses equipped with markers to track position and orientation to give you an interactive experience. We only got a liiitle dizzy.
There were many different simulations. We started with more static models, like a car in a wind tunnel, but looked at the space station, a coal furnace, and a water plant before getting to possibly the most interesting, a driving simulator.
I don't have a driver's license. I mean, I took driver's ed, and even had a permit until it expired, but I've only driven a car twice. And basically all of it was in parking lots. So me + a driving simulator was destined for failure. Luckily, even if you crashed, the chair didn't throw you into the steering wheel.
To start off, we got to look at the actual machines. Which, according to the engineers, aren't really the interesting part. I mean it's just a whole bunch of computers connected on a special network placed in really close proximity in a fairly freezing room. That has lots of locked doors. While I agree that what you can do with super computers is probably a lot more exciting, it's still pretty cool to see it all set up. :D
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| There's a whole building next door just for cooling these down |
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| I would hate to try to find the one misplaced wire.. |
There were many different simulations. We started with more static models, like a car in a wind tunnel, but looked at the space station, a coal furnace, and a water plant before getting to possibly the most interesting, a driving simulator.
I don't have a driver's license. I mean, I took driver's ed, and even had a permit until it expired, but I've only driven a car twice. And basically all of it was in parking lots. So me + a driving simulator was destined for failure. Luckily, even if you crashed, the chair didn't throw you into the steering wheel.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Minions
They are pill shaped. They are yellow (at least most of the time). They're returning this summer in Despicable Me 2; A movie which, surprisingly, sold out of tickets last Friday when we originally had the idea to go see it. (in English- though I'm not sure how different the minions' sounds would've been in German)
The theater we went to was a comforting slice of home with English language posters covering the walls and bulletin boards filled with fliers and postings for English-speakers in the Stuttgart area. For example, where to find English language church services. Go figure.
We had a lot of time to admire all the posters as, unlike with American theaters, we weren't allowed in until 10 minutes before the showing. I can't yet say that this is actually a difference, as it might just be for this small theater that plays international films. Clearly, more research is required. There are just so many good films coming out this summer... ahem.. I mean so many different variables to compare, that it might take multiple sets of comparisons. ;)
The theater we went to was a comforting slice of home with English language posters covering the walls and bulletin boards filled with fliers and postings for English-speakers in the Stuttgart area. For example, where to find English language church services. Go figure.
We had a lot of time to admire all the posters as, unlike with American theaters, we weren't allowed in until 10 minutes before the showing. I can't yet say that this is actually a difference, as it might just be for this small theater that plays international films. Clearly, more research is required. There are just so many good films coming out this summer... ahem.. I mean so many different variables to compare, that it might take multiple sets of comparisons. ;)
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Foreign Food Invasion
Our weekly foreign food day makes its triumphant return. This time bringing you: Asian food! (That's actually what we called it...)
An important question was answered today. How many Asians does it take to make Asian food? Probably just one. But for us it took all of us regardless of our Asian (or not Asian) decent. As a few of us battled chopsticks (for best results, don't hold the two in separate hands.. ><) others diced, stirred and mixed. We ended up with a feast spread all over the table, spreading delicious smells throughout the dorm making the other residents jealous. Or just hungry.
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| We don't believe in too many cooks in the kitchen |
An important question was answered today. How many Asians does it take to make Asian food? Probably just one. But for us it took all of us regardless of our Asian (or not Asian) decent. As a few of us battled chopsticks (for best results, don't hold the two in separate hands.. ><) others diced, stirred and mixed. We ended up with a feast spread all over the table, spreading delicious smells throughout the dorm making the other residents jealous. Or just hungry.
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| When stuff looks this tasty, it's hard to wait |
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| We were supposed to bring bowls. All I had was a cup. |
Not So Smooth Integrating
According to MATLAB derivatives and integrals aren't actually inverses of each other. If they were my life would be so much easier. Instead I have really gross graphs with lots of "noise" which is entirely computer generated and not algebraic. Bummer. Now my project is 'how to outsmart your computer.' Which is a bit of a daunting task.
It's probably not that bad, but it is rather frustrating. I thought it was more annoying when I didn't know really what the issue was, but now that I know the issue but don't seem able to do anything about it, I'd almost rather still be debugging. (le gasp :O)
It's probably not that bad, but it is rather frustrating. I thought it was more annoying when I didn't know really what the issue was, but now that I know the issue but don't seem able to do anything about it, I'd almost rather still be debugging. (le gasp :O)
Internet Wrangler
Sometimes things just aren't meant to be. Take for example the internet and me. We were clearly not meant to be together forever. This is what I discovered today. As such, uploading may be a bit complicated in the future. (This would be why the posts are oddly spaced around this day.) Sorry to people who got all worried when I didn't upload.
For SCIENCE!
I went to the Deutsches Museum! It's now probably my favorite museum.
It has everything. (Especially when they finish renovations and have a planetarium again) It has robots. It has old boats. It has old planes. It has new planes. It has math puzzles. (<3) And model trains, harpsichords, organs (that are played!), a Focalt's pendulum, the solar system (minus Pluto), glass blowing, old computing devices (that they'll turn on), liquid nitrogen demonstrations (never can get enough of that stuff) and, and, and... everything. Basically.
So you should definitely go if you've ever though about science. (which is everyone.. or should be ¬¬) Probably my favorite exhibit was the mathematical puzzles. It ranged from colored tile patterns, building shapes from specifically shaped blocks, and a bit on knots to trying to Conway's game of life.(unfortunately out of order).
Conveniently next door was the history of computers, starting with the abacus. As I went on a guided tour of the exhibit (in German of course - I was pleasantly surprised with how much I understood. Luckily for CS a lot of the words are the same. gigaflop == gigaflop) I learned how to use a bunch of ancient calculating devices. Want to know my plan for the next no-calculator exam? Bring an abacus. :D
After geeking out all day at the museum, we got a nice dinner at a small restaurant. I admit it. I didn't get German food. After a month and a half of almost exclusively local cuisine, I couldn't stand one more day of Maultaschen or Wurst or some creamy pasta with mushrooms. Instead, I got Thai curry. It was a very welcome difference.
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| All you need to know about this picture: this guy is a boss. |
It has everything. (Especially when they finish renovations and have a planetarium again) It has robots. It has old boats. It has old planes. It has new planes. It has math puzzles. (<3) And model trains, harpsichords, organs (that are played!), a Focalt's pendulum, the solar system (minus Pluto), glass blowing, old computing devices (that they'll turn on), liquid nitrogen demonstrations (never can get enough of that stuff) and, and, and... everything. Basically.
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| There's surprisingly good wind inside |
So you should definitely go if you've ever though about science. (which is everyone.. or should be ¬¬) Probably my favorite exhibit was the mathematical puzzles. It ranged from colored tile patterns, building shapes from specifically shaped blocks, and a bit on knots to trying to Conway's game of life.(unfortunately out of order).
Conveniently next door was the history of computers, starting with the abacus. As I went on a guided tour of the exhibit (in German of course - I was pleasantly surprised with how much I understood. Luckily for CS a lot of the words are the same. gigaflop == gigaflop) I learned how to use a bunch of ancient calculating devices. Want to know my plan for the next no-calculator exam? Bring an abacus. :D
After geeking out all day at the museum, we got a nice dinner at a small restaurant. I admit it. I didn't get German food. After a month and a half of almost exclusively local cuisine, I couldn't stand one more day of Maultaschen or Wurst or some creamy pasta with mushrooms. Instead, I got Thai curry. It was a very welcome difference.
Because the World is Small
You can only stay in one area for so long before you get the urge to travel a bit further. This weekend I caved to that urge (the start of a trend for my weekends to come) and traveled to Munich. (That I knew someone who was going to be there for the weekend probably didn't have anything to do with it either ;P)
To keep costs down as much as possible, I arrived at 7:40 in the morning. On a train that was arriving late. That means I woke up at at actually-way-too-early AM and still managed to kind of almost miss the train. >< Mornings and me are mortal enemies I think.
The good things about early trains: You're not allowed to sleep in, guaranteeing an early start to your day and hopefully maximizing it's productivity. The bad things about early trains: You're not allowed to sleep in.
After meeting up with some friends from back home and snacking on some delicious baked goods (eaten in half of a piece increments, because somehow in the splitting of multiple pieces you end up with less total... ) we headed out for our day around Munich. I actually do mean around Munich. We didn't spend much time actually in the city.
To start off, we visited Dachau. I've seen a number of documentaries, studied it in school and even been to a few sites and museums in Berlin regarding concentration camps, but somehow being on the site was a much more powerful experience than I was really ready for. I don't think anyone could ever really be ready for it. I had thought about taking some photos, but I decided not to as I think it's something you really do have to experience for yourself.
On a happier note, we then traveled through Munich (taking a stop at the Hauptbahnhof to grab some Döner) on to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. As we exited the train talking excitedly about our kind-of-vaguely "planned" hike, we caught the interest of another American traveling abroad. He was in Munich for the summer and happened to be from... MIT. Basically, the world is full of surprises.
Together we took our free map from the tourist info center (just big enough to show us where we want to go, but if we took a wrong turn, we were likely off the map) and set out to tackle the mountain.
I am a sort of hiker. I like the idea of hiking. I know a bit about hiking. I've even been hiking a fair number of times. Just not very intense hikes. Like climbing a mountain hikes. This hike was uphill. (all the way, both ways, in the snow... well it would be in winter at least)
The view though, when we got to the outlook, was well worth all the effort. Just take a look:
So I got up to this point of the post and realized because of stupid things like transfer cables, internet and really short battery lives, I can't actually get the pictures up right now ><
BUT I DON'T WANT TO WAIT ANY LONGER TO POST THIS. So you'll have to check back later for the photos. -.- Sincerest apologies.
EDIT: Photos now included. Fancy that.
To keep costs down as much as possible, I arrived at 7:40 in the morning. On a train that was arriving late. That means I woke up at at actually-way-too-early AM and still managed to kind of almost miss the train. >< Mornings and me are mortal enemies I think.
The good things about early trains: You're not allowed to sleep in, guaranteeing an early start to your day and hopefully maximizing it's productivity. The bad things about early trains: You're not allowed to sleep in.
After meeting up with some friends from back home and snacking on some delicious baked goods (eaten in half of a piece increments, because somehow in the splitting of multiple pieces you end up with less total... ) we headed out for our day around Munich. I actually do mean around Munich. We didn't spend much time actually in the city.
To start off, we visited Dachau. I've seen a number of documentaries, studied it in school and even been to a few sites and museums in Berlin regarding concentration camps, but somehow being on the site was a much more powerful experience than I was really ready for. I don't think anyone could ever really be ready for it. I had thought about taking some photos, but I decided not to as I think it's something you really do have to experience for yourself.
On a happier note, we then traveled through Munich (taking a stop at the Hauptbahnhof to grab some Döner) on to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. As we exited the train talking excitedly about our kind-of-vaguely "planned" hike, we caught the interest of another American traveling abroad. He was in Munich for the summer and happened to be from... MIT. Basically, the world is full of surprises.
Together we took our free map from the tourist info center (just big enough to show us where we want to go, but if we took a wrong turn, we were likely off the map) and set out to tackle the mountain.
I am a sort of hiker. I like the idea of hiking. I know a bit about hiking. I've even been hiking a fair number of times. Just not very intense hikes. Like climbing a mountain hikes. This hike was uphill. (all the way, both ways, in the snow... well it would be in winter at least)
The view though, when we got to the outlook, was well worth all the effort. Just take a look:
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| I brought my nicer camera. (can you tell?) |
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| You could see for forever. And a half. |
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| There was a cafe at the top. Sadly we couldn't stay to check it out. |
So I got up to this point of the post and realized because of stupid things like transfer cables, internet and really short battery lives, I can't actually get the pictures up right now ><
BUT I DON'T WANT TO WAIT ANY LONGER TO POST THIS. So you'll have to check back later for the photos. -.- Sincerest apologies.
EDIT: Photos now included. Fancy that.
Friday, July 5, 2013
New Unit of Measurement: Cubic Trees
Are you confused by the title? You should be. Today I went on a tour of (yet another) University of Stuttgart project: cubic trees. At least that's what was the little, slightly misinformed preconceived notion I had.
There were trees. And they together did form a cube. But that wasn't really the cool part. The cool part was that as the trees grew, they would grow into each other (due to carefully placed screws) and become one organism. Which is cool right? On top of that, supports for entire platform levels are also thrust between branches encouraging the trees to grow around them just the way cable companies in the US don't like branches to grow.
Since the tree growing around the metal pipes forms such a tight bond (It looks like the pipe is sticking through the middle of a single branch) the tree can serve as the supports for the structure. So when we all come back for our 20 year reunion in 2033, there will be a living structure that you can climb in that's all one tree. A whole different meaning to tree house.
Growing tree structures takes space, so instead of being on the university's campus, it was out in Nagold, a really pretty little town. In our bit of free time I discovered two of my favorite things: a bookstore (well.. you should know this about me by know hopefully.. I have book-dar) and a church. Not only a church though, a church in which an organist was practicing. (I love the way organs sound in large churches)
To top off an already wonderful day, we went as a group to our self-declared pub in the middle of the forest. We didn't even get lost this time! Better yet, on the way back I saw fireflies for the first time (that I remember at least). Watching them move over the hill underneath the trees was really magical. I really wanted to take a picture, but I think it's one of those things that just can't be expressed unless you're there to see it.
There were trees. And they together did form a cube. But that wasn't really the cool part. The cool part was that as the trees grew, they would grow into each other (due to carefully placed screws) and become one organism. Which is cool right? On top of that, supports for entire platform levels are also thrust between branches encouraging the trees to grow around them just the way cable companies in the US don't like branches to grow.
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| Eventually all these planter boxes will be removed |
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| The dates indicate when those pieces will be removed |
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| Eventually it'll grow over the top to provide shade |
To top off an already wonderful day, we went as a group to our self-declared pub in the middle of the forest. We didn't even get lost this time! Better yet, on the way back I saw fireflies for the first time (that I remember at least). Watching them move over the hill underneath the trees was really magical. I really wanted to take a picture, but I think it's one of those things that just can't be expressed unless you're there to see it.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Independence Day
Happy Fourth of July! To keep up our American spirit, we celebrated Independence Day with a yummy, traditional apple pie. Although I do miss seeing the fireworks, eating pie right out of the oven with whipped cream isn't such a bad alternative.
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| Before |
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| After |
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Rollin' Sushi on the Second Floor
Today was the second of our group cook nights, and this time we attempted to make sushi. And for all intents and purposes I would say we actually succeeded. (A rare occurrence, I know)
Using the snazy new asian-certified (but made in US ... ><) products we had bought the day before, we cooked lots (waaay too much) rice in assorted pots, cut up vegetables into strips and rolled them into rolls. One of our groups members channeled his cooking heritage and made surprisingly professional looking rolls, despite the odd ingredients requested. (Like bacon. Seriously, who wants bacon in their sushi?)
And now for something completely different: There are fireworks going off right now, unless I'm mistaken. I'm a bit confused.. the 4th of July isn't for another hour.
Using the snazy new asian-certified (but made in US ... ><) products we had bought the day before, we cooked lots (waaay too much) rice in assorted pots, cut up vegetables into strips and rolled them into rolls. One of our groups members channeled his cooking heritage and made surprisingly professional looking rolls, despite the odd ingredients requested. (Like bacon. Seriously, who wants bacon in their sushi?)
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| Bacon sushi on our pizza box cutting board |
And now for something completely different: There are fireworks going off right now, unless I'm mistaken. I'm a bit confused.. the 4th of July isn't for another hour.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Visiting Asia(Markt)
What's similar about Germany and the USA? A lot of things, to be honest- basically everything apart from the language is similar. I mean, they're both modern countries of the western world.
What's exactly the same between Germany and the USA? Asian supermarkets. Well, minus the language. Perhaps you're thinking, 'Why is this so surprising?', which is a good question. Aren't immigrants going to sort of be the same wherever they end up? I guess they could be.
However, I've gotten used to seeing the kind-of-the-same, but still just a bit different. (Like how grocery stores don't have pharmacies attached, and you're expected (most of the time) to seat yourself at restaurants) It's close enough that you think you know what to do, but different enough that you stick out like a foreigner if you operate on auto-pilot like at home.
However, there really wasn't that sort of 'just-a-bit' different feeling at the Asian grocery stores we went to today. There was still stuff packed in really close together. There was still an air of bargain prices (irrelevant if the prices were actually bargains), the onslaught of languages you didn't speak, and a wide selection of food you probably wouldn't eat. (like grass jelly... sorry if that's something you hold dear)
If I had to pick out one thing that was maaaybe a bit different, it would be the shopkeepers' mastery of the native language. Their German was easily better than mine. (I guess that would be me, sticking out as a foreigner again.)
What's exactly the same between Germany and the USA? Asian supermarkets. Well, minus the language. Perhaps you're thinking, 'Why is this so surprising?', which is a good question. Aren't immigrants going to sort of be the same wherever they end up? I guess they could be.
However, I've gotten used to seeing the kind-of-the-same, but still just a bit different. (Like how grocery stores don't have pharmacies attached, and you're expected (most of the time) to seat yourself at restaurants) It's close enough that you think you know what to do, but different enough that you stick out like a foreigner if you operate on auto-pilot like at home.
However, there really wasn't that sort of 'just-a-bit' different feeling at the Asian grocery stores we went to today. There was still stuff packed in really close together. There was still an air of bargain prices (irrelevant if the prices were actually bargains), the onslaught of languages you didn't speak, and a wide selection of food you probably wouldn't eat. (like grass jelly... sorry if that's something you hold dear)
If I had to pick out one thing that was maaaybe a bit different, it would be the shopkeepers' mastery of the native language. Their German was easily better than mine. (I guess that would be me, sticking out as a foreigner again.)
Monday, July 1, 2013
The Sound of Silence
Yay! It's Monday. Or not. As far as the project goes, I'm having "fun" with parametric equations. :D heh. I was having some issues, so I went to the... drumroll please... library. The library was really different than those at MIT.
For starters, the place actually had people in it looking for books. And reading them :O. (When I first started asking about libraries at MIT, I was recommended to go to the libraries with the comfiest chairs for napping...)
Another major difference was that you weren't allowed to take your backpack into the stacks. If you wanted to bring stuff with you, they had these plastic baskets you could put stuff in. Also, the system for organizing the books was way different. While I was expecting this, it was still difficult (even with a map) to figure out where books were and where I should look for similarly themed books.
What was similar though, was the really good wifi connection. I'm not sure what it is about libraries, but the wifi always seems to get good mojo from being around the books.
For starters, the place actually had people in it looking for books. And reading them :O. (When I first started asking about libraries at MIT, I was recommended to go to the libraries with the comfiest chairs for napping...)
Another major difference was that you weren't allowed to take your backpack into the stacks. If you wanted to bring stuff with you, they had these plastic baskets you could put stuff in. Also, the system for organizing the books was way different. While I was expecting this, it was still difficult (even with a map) to figure out where books were and where I should look for similarly themed books.
What was similar though, was the really good wifi connection. I'm not sure what it is about libraries, but the wifi always seems to get good mojo from being around the books.
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