Homie can dance!

I've watched this video about a thousand times and I still go into uncontrollable laughing fits.



I wonder if I can teach Kicia to do that.

Probably not.

A quick update on the wastage of time

So it’s really been a while since I was here so you might be thinking that I’ve got stories that’ll rock your world. So let me be the first to apologise for your ensuing disappointment.

I mean unless German study is the sort of thing that makes you take your top off and dance bare-chested on the table. And I’m really not one to judge. It’s a difficult language.

Mark and I have been studying our arses off so that when someone randomly approaches us at an U-Bahn station (subway) or in a club we don’t do the YMCA to communicate that we don’t understand. I’m actually not entirely sure why we do it anyway; we generally get most of what’s being said to us. But the person speaking to us would never know – as far as they’re concerned it’s flying limbs, stunned looks and a bit of tap dancing by two of the most uncoordinated people on the planet.

Contrary to these interactions, our language skills are actually progressing quite well. We’ve both aced all of the tests we’ve done so far. And I say tests because we have two a week. TWO each week. Eeeesh! So if you have any complaints (you know regarding missing content on the blog), you may address them to our German teacher.

Lately I’ve also been doing quite a bit of freelance. Partly to make money (our lavish study-based lifestyle is not going to pay for itself) and partly to prove to myself that just because I sneak German syntax into my English sentences sometimes for no apparent reason, I still have full command over my pseudo-native tongue.

You may also freely assume that at least part of my time has been taken up by watching all three versions of The Duck song (if you have that kind of free time, like me, you should watch them all too):


Now I can’t stop saying “Hey!...Got any grapes?”

The people at our local Bäckerei (bakery) don’t get it. But they weren’t appreciative of the YMCA spectacular either, so I think maybe they’re just a little odd.

Two random dog stories:

“Awww look at that dog pooing in the bushes,” Simon gushed so sincerely this morning that for a disturbing moment I regretted not having a camera with me. 

You’ll just have to take my word that the dog was cute, it was shivering, it was concentrated and it was more than a little embarrassed that it had been caught doing its business…and it took Simon and I several seconds to register what we were actually seeing. All three parties walked away a little bit ashamed that day.

The second dog was completely insane. I shouldn’t judge because I’m crazy myself, but it was completely insane. It kept following a pigeon around in circles, tail awkwardly poised in the air and an unwavering look of concentration on its face. There was so much intensity there that a small crowd of delighted people gathered to watch it and silently chant “GO DOG! KILL THAT PIGEON! KILL IT AND MAKE A HAT OUT OF IT!”.

The pigeon couldn’t have been less moved. Once in a while it would cast a backward glance at the dog as if to say “Hey buddy, what’s your problem? You know I can see you right? I Can See You. Oh boy, you’re just not getting this. I. Can. See. You…” then it flew away causing the dog to go into an excitable barking fit and then into a look of utter confusion.

Here’s a picture, although I was laughing so hard it’s not one of my best. Do you know what sells it for me though? The expression on the face of the woman in the background. 

Whhooogh

 That’s the noise that I think should accompany this photo, although the actual moving process was much quieter and penguin like.

Irony

I don't know what the going rate for "irony" is in Australia, but it seems like 0,80euro is über cheap.

McChin!

This is one of the characters on a local TV show...or maybe it was a movie. We're a little bit fuzzy on the details because OH MY GOD THE CHIN!

THREE WEEKS!

Mark and I have been in Munich for three weeks now and it has been pimping itself out like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. But rather than spreading its wares in an elevator, it has been wooing us with incredible weather.

So far we’ve only had one or two cold days and only a handful of overcast ones, while the rest have been magical. Last weekend we even managed to get a couple of 18-degree days. Honestly Munich, you had us at gorgeous buildings there is no need for this type of foreplay.

Although I’m beginning to suspect that maybe it’s just the German sense of humour and when we least expect it – like when we’re all skipping down the street in our bikinis – the sky will tear up with laughter and then drop several tonnes of snow on us. Who knows?

What can be said for certain is that winter is inching closer. Most of the trees that were colourful when we first arrived have now lost all of their leaves, a massive outdoor ice-skating rink is being built at Karlsplatz and the locals keep reminding us that the weather we’ve been having isn’t normal with the sort of kind-hearted intensity that hints at the end of days. I’m looking for an excuse to get a pair of snow boots anyway so BRING IT ON, I say.

Strolling around in the warmth aside, among our most recent accomplishments we can list: 

Cooking dinner at home, 

Discovering a cheap and delicious Vietnamese restaurant 

and starting Shaolin Kung Fu. 

Here we are just moments before our first class. It was so fantastic that for the next couple of days Mark and I hobbled around like 90-year-olds, every now and again pausing to reflect how good it is to feel every muscle in your body ache, before asking each other for assistance to put our underwear on. Too much information? Sorry but you needed to know that the pain was real.

SHABLAM!

That's how this gorgeous day hit us. We didn't see it coming and we didn't stand a chance. Nothing productive got done that day...