One of the most marvellous things about teaching and learning a language is that both processes are quite often extremely and unintentionally funny. Ponder, for a moment, the potential hilarity of my own tendency to confuse the German words for ‘grape’ and ‘pigeon’ (traube and taube) ‘boot’ and ‘pen’ (stiefel and stift) and cake and… [Read more…]
January 16, 2012
The other day someone asked me if Australians are patriotic. In and of itself that is a loaded question and I made some sort of strange ‘yyyeeeaaaahnooooo’ noise which swiftly ended when the second part of the question was posed, ‘to England or to Australia?’ I was quick to assure the lovely man that we… [Read more…]
January 10, 2012
When I started teaching English as a second language, I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t know whether I would be pointing at a plant and saying ‘green’, pointing at my smiling face and saying ‘happy!’ or repeating ‘hello, goodbye’ over and over again. I did think to myself, ‘how hard can it… [Read more…]
January 7, 2012
I am moving. To Bavaria. More specifically, to a region known as Franken and Oberpfalz. Even more specifically, to a town called Weiden. Let me tell you a few facts about Weiden. - It has a population of around 41,000 people. - It is 35 km from the Czech border. - The city has been around… [Read more…]
January 2, 2012
I am not known for my willpower. Just ask the entire cake aisle of my local supermarket. We are well acquainted in a most intimate, excessive way. I also have the terrible, Aquarian habit, of starting things with the best intentions and then getting distracted halfway through and starting something else (case in point, at… [Read more…]
December 29, 2011
When I was doing a lot of beauty writing, I received bags of pretty, scented frippery, daily. Ergo, beauty and fragrance posts on this little blog of mine, were plentiful. Building a life in a foreign city robbed me of perfume pocket money and moving countries took me off PR lists. Ergo beauty and fragrance… [Read more…]
December 27, 2011
It has been a big year. I know it is customary to say that at the end of every year. To look back on 365 days gone by and give them a polish with a tired, satisfied sigh and a scrap of hindsight. But really, 2011 has been rather large. And hard. It has, I think,… [Read more…]
December 22, 2011
When it became apparent I wouldn’t be making it home for Christmas, I was quietly devastated. I cried like a baby for at least a week straight and then every time I saw a woman who remotely resembled my mother (ie was female) for a good month after that. I assure you, my behaviour surprised… [Read more…]
December 17, 2011
I think I am slowly getting the hang of this cold Christmas caper. I am not saying I’m converted, I’m just saying I can live with it. If I have to. After last year’s intensive course in European winters, I vowed I would never go through one again. And yet, hilariously, here I am. Every… [Read more…]
December 14, 2011
The other morning my flatmate and her boyfriend were in the kitchen laughing like drains. So much so, that I went in to see what was going on. Dildo pool as it turns out. The TV show they were watching was replaying a 90s game show that set up celebrities by asking them to partake in… [Read more…]
December 6, 2011
I had a few thoughts, driving down south last Friday afternoon. 1) “God, it’s getting dark early these days.” 2) “Why doesn’t the autobahn have streetlights?” 3) “So this is it. My soon-to-be surrounds. Rather hilly. And genuinely in the middle of nowhere.” Come next year, I shall be moving. To the middle of nowhere.… [Read more…]
November 30, 2011
In the beginning, a lot of people asked me if I missed Australia. I always said no, because I didn’t. Simple. To be fair, I hadn’t been gone long and there were far more exciting things on the horizon to think about, rather than mull over what I had left behind. And Sydney was always… [Read more…]
January 21, 2012
6