Incoherent Scribblings

A Special Announcement

OK, here it is… the announcement I alluded to yesterday: (drum roll please)

Last week I was contacted by the good folks over at Expatica.com who had been reading my blog. Recently they decided that an expat blog column would be a good addition to their website that is chock-full of news and information for expats living in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands. In the email they sent me, they asked me if I would be their “German” expat blogger!

I was extremely flattered. After all, their “French” expat blogger is none other than Petite Anglaise who, as many of my readers know, is a wonderfully talented writer. After many back and forth emails clarifying all the details, I accepted.

That’s why tonight I am announcing that my expat blog over at the German section of Expatica.com is now officially up and running! I will be posting some of my German adventures over there once or twice a week now, so do come over and check us out.

And as a matter of fact, today’s entry, “A Trip to the Post Office,” is brought to you by Expatica.com.

One thing about living in a foreign country that never ceases to amaze me is how an otherwise mundane task has the surprising ability to turn into an outright adventure. Take, for example, an ordinary trip to the post office.

A while back I had a package that needed to be sent via certified mail. I had sent many packages to the U.S. in the past, but had never sent something that required a signature upon arrival.

Of course, I didn’t have any packaging at home that would work, so I decided that I would just take the recipient’s address and the materials I needed with me to the post office. There I would purchase the envelopes, address the package, and after making sure a signature would be required upon arrival, send my little package off to Switzerland.

Before I left the house I verified what I thought might be useful words and phrases in my German-English dictionary; “versichern” – to insure, “die Unterschrift” – signature, and “das Einschreiben” – certified/registered mail. Though “das Einschreiben” might have been the most useful word of the day, unfortunately it was also a new word for me. Therefore once I actually got to the post office it went straight out of my head.

As I walked to the post office, I rehearsed the conversation with the postman in my head.

Ich möchte dieser Brief versichern, bitte. Ja, der Brief braucht eine Unterschrift. Vielen Dank.

I knew that the chances were slim that I would actually use those words with the correct grammar, I seldom do, but it doesn’t stop me from practicing anyway.

I purchased my padded envelopes without a fuss and sat down to stuff and address my package. In my perfect penmanship, I began writing out the recipient’s address. However, as I came to the last line, my pen hovered above the envelope: My package needed to go to Switzerland!

In German, Switzerland is a country that requires an article (der, die, or das) and for the life of me, I couldn’t remember if Switzerland was masculine, feminine, or neutral. As a matter of fact, I wasn’t even sure if I was required to put the article on the envelope. I agonized over the matter for a few minutes until I finally decided to take the easy way out: I wrote “Switzerland” in English and hoped for the best.

I took my package to the desk and though the postman didn’t question the fact that “Switzerland” was in English, he didn’t seem to comprehend what I wanted when I indicated that the package should be “versichert.” When I finally told him that it needed “eine Unterschrift” he understood and filled out a form for my little package. In turn I got a receipt with a tracking number and the recipient’s name and address on it.

I then went home and for the next week anxiously awaited an email from the addressee telling me that the package had arrived at its intended destination but was not released from the post office’s custody without the requisite signature.

When I learned that the package had arrived safe and sound, I was elated: not only because the package had arrived, but because I could add another success story to my list of everyday tasks that I can accomplish in Germany. However, I’m still not sure if I need to add “die” to Schweiz when addressing an envelope.

Holiday at the Black Sea

Almost two months from now, A. will be conferring along the Black Sea in a little place called Sozopol, Bulgaria, “one of [Bulgaria's] most popular beach resorts. Preferred by people for its casual ambience and ancient atmosphere.” And guess what?! I will be going along!

When I studied in Paris, my roommate was Bulgarian. Her name was Déliana and she tried to persuade me to come home with her to Sofia over Christmas that year, but I opted to go to London and Amsterdam instead. At that time (1994) Bulgaria hadn’t been free from the Soviet Union for that long and honestly, I was a little wary of traveling there. However, after the Christmas break the pictures Déliana showed me from her home peaked my interest and before I went back to the States she began teaching me the Bulgarian alphabet and those basic language things like “hello,” “goodbye,” “please,” and “thank you.”

I never thought at that time I would ever visit Bulgaria. And so even though Déliana and I corresponded for about a year, eventually we lost touch and unfortunately, I have forgotten all the Bulgarian she taught me.

I love to travel and the idea of spending a lazy week along the cost of the Black Sea soaking up the June sun and exploring the ancient landscape while A. confers with his nerdy colleagues sounds like a little piece of Heaven to me.

Even though I suppose I better try and get a hold of an English-Bulgarian (or in an emergency a German-Bulgarian) phrase book before I go…

Specialty Stitches

Not much stitching news to report. I started a sewing project over the weekend and hubby has been off work this week, so I haven’t had much chance to stitch until today. I started the half stitches on “Girl’s Time Out.” They are going a little slower than expected, but they are coming along.

I can’t believe it is Wednesday already! When I started the SBQ I made no promises and in fact said it would be irregular, but I have found that I have been able to keep up a steady stream of questions and can post once a week. Somewhere along the way I decided Wednesday was a good day for this, so since that is today, it is time for another round of the Stitching Blogger’s Question. Today’s question was suggested by Jenn L. when she left me a comment after viewing my first Hardanger piece.

What is your next specialty stitch?

As for me, I am not sure what specialty stitch I would like to try next. I’m having lots fun with Hardanger right now and I think that I would like to practice the stitches one can do with it some more before moving on to something else.

The best online site I found for Hardanger is the Nordic Needle’s Hardanger Hints. Hardanger 101 takes you through satin stitches, cutting, weaving and webs (or dove’s eyes). Hardanger 201 demonstrates picots, lacy wrapping, spokes, and cable stitching. Finally, Hardanger 301 shows buttonhole edges, eyelets, stars, and ships. I have made my way through 101 and learned the eyelets from 301, but I still have quite a way to go before I make it through all the Hardanger techniques, so I think I will be busy for a while.

However, I must also admit that I have been looking at some white and blackwork the last few days and might try to give it a whirl in the near future!