attempting German style charades
Somebody said this weekend that Munich has more days of precipitation than London. I just can’t believe that that applied this year. The weather has been very cooperative. Warm when it counts (weekends) and chilly at night. Paradise for a Floridian.
Still I had been feeling a bit down last Thursday and Friday. Stuck indoors and fighting this Bewerben book is just no fun. But Friday night, we celebrated Fabian’s birthday at Lake Hofstätter. Mandy set up a wonderful little party and her chili was out of this world.
At the party, I attempted to play this game called “Funky Monkey”. I don’t know why it’s named after a Beastie Boy’s song. I chalk it up to Germans who know too much junk English. The game basically consists of scribbling down names of famous people on scrap paper and throwing them into a bowl. Two teams compete in 3 rounds using the bowl of names three times. Each team member has a two minute turn to act while the other teammates guess. First round is to get through as many names by any means without saying the name. Second round is pantomiming. Third round is you say only one word.
My first German charades game and I did okay except for naming/describing famous German people. Hey slack was given, but what a loser that I couldn’t even describe famous people from my so-called culture. Tell me, why are there Germans who know about Macho Man Randy Savage? It’s disturbing. I had no clue what my teammate was talking about until he said ‘Snap into a Slim Jim!’.
What an evening and shared a new twist to an old habit of mine since I’ve been in Germany. Expat life is a continuous game of charades – either the culture is a riddle and foreigners are the ones having to guess the meaning or we’re the ones relying on physical gesture rather than verbal language to convey our message. We like games. We thrive on games.
The rest of the weekend there was no ‘game on’ rather dedicated to vegging out. Literally. We ate so many vegetables. I made vegetable soup and a veggie casserole. Had Alex not convinced me about ordering a pizza, I would have made something with Fennel, spinach, or red cabbage. Thanks to the Ökokiste, I’ve got to be more creative with preparing veggies. Other than that ordeal, Alex read his new Philip Kurr book on the balcony and I warmed my bare feet in the warmth of the sun. One of my favorite past times. And no I’m not ashamed to show my feet! We watched “the Wire” – our latest series addiction and an episode of Weeds. I’m devastated that U-turn is 
I love that character.
We look forward to seeing Marko aka Blackforest this week. Maybe he’ll deliver a Kuckucks clock. I don’t look forward to getting blood drawn tomorrow. Such is live.
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wow, belly needles… I have no hesitation injecting other people, but still have to look away when I’m receiving one.
you;re right, it’s like you’re living in charades almost everyday. and all those veggies sound so nutritious. glad you’re cooking.
Seems like you had a nice weekend!
I had a pretty good one too, specially since its spring here! 
:eis:
I like charades as an analogy for expat life. In Britain at least we (in theory) speak the same language, but there is still the cultural games. It can be really exhausting. I find myself comfortable in the company of Americans that aren’t really typical friends for me. Good post!