Tuesday, June 28, 2011

You Say Cables, I Say Camels

Oh...oh. That made me snort with laughter.

I'm translating an article that has to do with trains, and was just looking around to see if there's a specific technical term in English for the German "Kabelschacht" (basically just a "cable shaft"). One site didn't have that term, but suggested that perhaps I had meant "Kamelschlacht."

Which would be a "camel slaughter." Ja, similar.

Trams, Trains and Bikes, Oh My!

One of the reasons I would find very hard to leave Europe: city planning that favors public transportation over cars.

Nope, not kidding - for me, it's a huge quality of life factor, and not just about the environmental aspect. Stumbled across this New York Times article that covers some of the aspects.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Last Stations

Central Valley, California. Hot. Peaceful. Baby goats!



Hollywood, California. Where every street corner has people passing out flyers for bus tours passing famous people's homes.

Hollywood Boulevard itself is strangely not that glamorous, actually kind of drab and depressed looking. But yes, here is a liquor store that doubles as an Oscar-statuette-replica store:



Milwaukee, Wisconsin. May not sound like the most interesting place ever, but my friends who know the city have found the coolest corners of it, all the bike co-ops and vegan restaurants and great secondhand stores.

Also attended one of the sweetest weddings ever. Here's the bride and bride (you can't actually see them in the picture) preparing to jump through a hoop that reads "KAPOW!"



Back in Berlin, extraordinarily jetlagged, but happy that strawberry season is still in full swing!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Yosemite

Looks like there's a reason people come here!


(Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, 2,425 feet total height.)

Saturday, June 11, 2011

I'll Even Kiss a Sunset Pig, California I'm Coming Home

California. I like this state so much. I remember that every time I come here.

In lieu of an actual description of my time here, a few quotes:


(Meeting up with Oberlin friends in the Bay Area, talking about the danger of earthquakes here.)
Owen: "I mean, what can you do?"
Me: "Uh, NOT live here??"
Michael, shrugging: "I just keep water and a flashlight under my bed."

(Biking over the Golden Gate Bridge, seeing surfers lounging on their boards in the water below, hoping for a wave.)
Me: "They do look a lot like sea lions, don't they?"
Bill: "Yeah, waiting for someone to throw them a fish."


Also, we biked by San Francisco's baseball stadium, which sits right next to the water, and apparently people come hang out in kayaks to catch the baseballs that come flying over the stadium walls??

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Dickes Bee

For any German speakers out there (the article is only in German), this is about a friend of mine who's starting a food co-op in Berlin (cooperatively researching and buying from local farmers and producers). I've been somewhat involved in the start-up phase of the project, though I'm away from Berlin right now, and I'm proud to see her get such a cool write-up in a local paper! "Essenskooperative Dickes Bee" in the Tageszeitung (taz).

Monday, June 6, 2011

Friday, or Why Oberlin Is Awesome

How jealous I am that Oberlin – already a pretty fabulous place as it was – has gained such a rockin' new college president in the time since I left. Specifically, a college president willing to star in a music video parody so well-made, it's gone viral on Youtube!

The song is "Friday" by Rebecca Black. I, being both abroad and generally clueless about pop culture, hadn't heard of it, but according to one friend, it's "everyone's favorite thing to hate." If you don't know it, you might want to check out the original video first, just so you get the jokes.

Then to the parody! You will see the following seriously awesome individuals: the college president in the lead lip-synching role, supported by the dean of students, the VP for communications and the director of the alumni association – plus the dean of the conservatory of music in the rap singer cameo.

As one friend (who's not even an Oberlin alum) put it, "This is why you wish you graduated from Oberlin in 2011."

Here it is: the Oberlin College Friday Parody.

Brussels, Oberlin, Ithaca

Oops, sorry for the radio silence.

First there was my most epic travel story yet, with 30 hours of flight delays and a completely unplanned night in Brussels...

Then my five-year college reunion, which was fun and fabulous and completely weird, as you might imagine. Quite literally friends I hadn't seen in five years. As well as good friends who still live in town.

Plus there was plenty of time just to walk around Oberlin, enjoying all those small town summertime things, like long sidewalks and green lawns and children shrieking in and out of sprinklers. Muggy, sweltering days of the northeast U.S.

Now I'm in Ithaca, which has also been an extravaganza of people I know, because this weekend is also the Ithaca Festival weekend!