If being wise is the price for having wisdom teeth, I'd much rather be foolish, but no one asked my opinion, and I have all four wisdom teeth. Well make that two wisdom teeth now. Yesterday I had two of the four removed, the other two will come out in a few weeks. It was very much a surreal experience. I went in on Wednesday to the oral surgeon for a consultation. He took x-rays, explained the procedure, and sent me out to make an appointment. At the reception desk, she looked at her book, asked me what my schedule was like, and said, "How's tomorrow?" And the appointment was made, I was getting some wisdom teeth out in less than 24 hours. Fun.
What did I do first? I called my friend Michael to see if he could go with me- he could. Then I went and bought plenty of yogurt drinks and yogurt, as I cannot have solid foods- they are my lifeline. I called the family, took a bath, and tried to sleep.
Michael met me at my oral surgeons, it was such a blessing having him there. If I hadn't been with a friend to make me laugh, etc, it would have been miserable. The entire visit took less than a half hour. They saw me in, sat me down, shot me full of Novocaine (yes, no pleasant unconsciousness for me!), waited a few minutes, and then got down to work. It was a very surreal and terrifying experience to be awake while they took out some wisdom teeth. I think I might have preferred to be put under, but if my recovery is anything to go by- I feel alright- no where near the craziness I've heard from some of my friends to have the procedure before me.
The next saga of my ordeal involves pain medication. Normally, in the US, you are prescribed high powered meds, and lots of them. Not the case in Germany- 400mg Ibuprofen for me- no prescription necessary! There's a dull pain, but I think I'll survive. Just think of the bragging rights I'll have! I was awake when my wisdom teeth were pulled out and I did it with over the counter pain meds! I just really wish I didn't have to go through with this one more time.
Showing posts with label germany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label germany. Show all posts
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Monday, November 3, 2008
Rings
Oh no! I've discovered something quite shocking. It seems, in Germany, wedding rings are worn on the right ring finger! Now, as you know, wedding rings are worn in the US and many other lands on the left ring finger according to a belief that a vein led from that finger directly to your heart, the vena amoris or vein of love. Apparently the Germans went with the Medieval idea that Right was good and Left was according to the Latin- sinister.
Except all this does not hold entirely true for the society- in Berlin, a land of multiculturalism and heavily influenced by American pop culture, you will see couples sporting rings both ways. Older German couples tend to opt for the Right hand, while youngsters go in for the Left. This, it seems to me, would lead to quite a bit of confusion. I am personally not sure what I should do. I generally wear one ring at a time, on my right ring finger. I suppose I could switch to wearing rings on the left, but that a) feels weird and b) all my rings are sized to my right ring finger and like most people my right and left ringer fingers are different sizes. In the meantime I have given up wearing rings entirely, which makes me quite sad- I like wearing rings.
Either way, I've come up with a new game while riding my morning train- spot the wedding rings. I think I might start to keep track of the right and left hand frequency.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Bring Your Own Missal, really??
On Sunday, I ventured into the local Catholic church for Sunday Mass. I went to the St. Mauritius Kirche, about a 10 minute walk.
I was a bit nervous- having never been to mass in Germany- but thought to myself, "Hey, they'll have a missal or something, then I can follow along with the responses and I'll gradually learn what to say."
I walked up to the brick fortress (as almost all churches in Berlin seem to be), the sound of bells drawing me in on the rainy morning. I entered the church- there appeared to be no bulletin, and the church had no website, but hey I'm just here for church, right? I walked up to a pew in the middle and realized there were no missals, or hymnals. Hmmm...maybe I missed them walking in?? I went back to the foyer, looked around for books and the like, but none were to be found. Hmmm...Then I noticed people already walking in with books. It seems, at least at this church, that we operate under a policy of bring your own missal/hymnal to church!
The mass was very nice, began with the sound of a bell, whereupon everyone stood up and the organ began to play. Then the priest and about 10 Seminarians and 3 alter servers filed in, from the side and rather not down the center aisle. At the end of mass, they once more filed down the side aisle, and after the priest did not guard the door to shake everyone's hands- kind of a disappointment, not going to lie. There was a lot of singing, which was great- but I hadn't brought my own missal/hymnal- so I was out of luck! I was sitting next to two old women, both who didn't have the missal/hymnal, but clearly knew every song already. The general population of the church consists of old woman, a few older couples, a smattering of families, and the rare young and seemingly single person such as me.
As I left, I noticed there was a message board, but it was raining. Provided it does not rain next Sunday, I will have to see what goes on at this church! Wikipedia has told me of the existence of an elementary school connected to the church, and of a Seminary. Clearly the Seminary is to be believed, given the large number of Seminarians.
Today, in search of the mysterious missal/hymnal,I traveled to the one Catholic Book Store I was able to find online in Berlin. It was a charming shop I shall be frequenting again. I was able to find the book- called a Gotteslob, meaning more or less "God's Praise" in English, and had a marvelous conversation with the shopkeeper. In addition to being very helpful, she complimented my German and told me she would have taken me for a true resident of Berlin, had I not told her I was from California! Later, when I got home, I started to go through the book...it has all the songs and a nice collection of prayers for nearly every time of day and event or stage of life- but I have yet to find a complete order of the Mass! I am not even sure what that would be called in German. I have a feeling I will be going back to the shop sooner than anticipated!
I was a bit nervous- having never been to mass in Germany- but thought to myself, "Hey, they'll have a missal or something, then I can follow along with the responses and I'll gradually learn what to say."
I walked up to the brick fortress (as almost all churches in Berlin seem to be), the sound of bells drawing me in on the rainy morning. I entered the church- there appeared to be no bulletin, and the church had no website, but hey I'm just here for church, right? I walked up to a pew in the middle and realized there were no missals, or hymnals. Hmmm...maybe I missed them walking in?? I went back to the foyer, looked around for books and the like, but none were to be found. Hmmm...Then I noticed people already walking in with books. It seems, at least at this church, that we operate under a policy of bring your own missal/hymnal to church!
The mass was very nice, began with the sound of a bell, whereupon everyone stood up and the organ began to play. Then the priest and about 10 Seminarians and 3 alter servers filed in, from the side and rather not down the center aisle. At the end of mass, they once more filed down the side aisle, and after the priest did not guard the door to shake everyone's hands- kind of a disappointment, not going to lie. There was a lot of singing, which was great- but I hadn't brought my own missal/hymnal- so I was out of luck! I was sitting next to two old women, both who didn't have the missal/hymnal, but clearly knew every song already. The general population of the church consists of old woman, a few older couples, a smattering of families, and the rare young and seemingly single person such as me.
As I left, I noticed there was a message board, but it was raining. Provided it does not rain next Sunday, I will have to see what goes on at this church! Wikipedia has told me of the existence of an elementary school connected to the church, and of a Seminary. Clearly the Seminary is to be believed, given the large number of Seminarians.
Today, in search of the mysterious missal/hymnal,I traveled to the one Catholic Book Store I was able to find online in Berlin. It was a charming shop I shall be frequenting again. I was able to find the book- called a Gotteslob, meaning more or less "God's Praise" in English, and had a marvelous conversation with the shopkeeper. In addition to being very helpful, she complimented my German and told me she would have taken me for a true resident of Berlin, had I not told her I was from California! Later, when I got home, I started to go through the book...it has all the songs and a nice collection of prayers for nearly every time of day and event or stage of life- but I have yet to find a complete order of the Mass! I am not even sure what that would be called in German. I have a feeling I will be going back to the shop sooner than anticipated!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Open Container Laws??
In Germany, I have learned, there is no such thing as an open container law. You want to buy a beer, walk down the street drinking it, take it on the S-Bahn or U-Bahn? Feel free! I had observed some of this behavior, and thought it a bit odd, but hey- I'm in Germany, right? I didn't think I'd actually participate- but I did.
The other night, Melanie and I went to Treptower Park, a very nice park directly on the Spree- only two S-Bahn stops away! The image above is from Treptower Park- the view of the Spree. Before we went, she suggested getting something to drink. "Alright," I thought, "Some mineral water (disgustingly carbonated) or juice- sounds good to me!" We went into the corner market and directly to the refrigerated single beer section. Melanie prefers Alcohol-free beer, and I tried the same as her- not bad. We went walking through the park, drinking our Bavarian beers, enjoying the ambiance and weather. It was a great night for a walk. Melanie has discovered that I like to walk. Or rather that I am from Berkeley and obscene distances seem perfectly walkable. Only an hour away? That's nothing!
On the S-Bahn back, or beers empty and waiting to be returned for bottle deposit, I commented on how one would never be able to walk the streets with an open beer in America, especially not ride on Public Transit with one! Imagine drinking a beer on the BART, coffee is hard enough! Melanie said she had heard of such a thing before, she had a friend from Canada who was equally amazed by this German allowance. But it had always been so in Germany. Not that bad I guess.
As an update to my continued struggles with the metric system, I'm in the process of making challah today. It's a good thing I never measure ingredients anyway! After all, they're just suggestions.
The other night, Melanie and I went to Treptower Park, a very nice park directly on the Spree- only two S-Bahn stops away! The image above is from Treptower Park- the view of the Spree. Before we went, she suggested getting something to drink. "Alright," I thought, "Some mineral water (disgustingly carbonated) or juice- sounds good to me!" We went into the corner market and directly to the refrigerated single beer section. Melanie prefers Alcohol-free beer, and I tried the same as her- not bad. We went walking through the park, drinking our Bavarian beers, enjoying the ambiance and weather. It was a great night for a walk. Melanie has discovered that I like to walk. Or rather that I am from Berkeley and obscene distances seem perfectly walkable. Only an hour away? That's nothing!
On the S-Bahn back, or beers empty and waiting to be returned for bottle deposit, I commented on how one would never be able to walk the streets with an open beer in America, especially not ride on Public Transit with one! Imagine drinking a beer on the BART, coffee is hard enough! Melanie said she had heard of such a thing before, she had a friend from Canada who was equally amazed by this German allowance. But it had always been so in Germany. Not that bad I guess.
As an update to my continued struggles with the metric system, I'm in the process of making challah today. It's a good thing I never measure ingredients anyway! After all, they're just suggestions.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Units of Measurements
There are many differences between America and Germany. At the most basic- they speak German in Germany, na klar! But there are smaller ones too. For example, I constantly have to remember to begin counting with my thumb. Perplexed shopkeepers, I have had enough of you- I will remember!
However, the other day, Melanie and I were sharing stories of our families. She was describing a cousin to me, one she said was very tall- over two meters. Then I had to tell her, that sorry- I really have no clue what that means. A meter is a small yard, right? And a centimeter is a really small inch, no? The conversation expanded to our crazy world of Fahrenheit. That's right, Melanie- Fahrenheit. According to some cursory research only a few nations retain Fahrenheit. The US, Liberia, Myanmar, and Belize, together going strong with Fahrenheit! It does seem, interestingly enough, that the Fahrenheit system was developed by a German.
I have almost no perception of Celsius. Hmmm...I know (from Cordelia) that over 30°C is surely a sign of the apocalypse, but beyond that- not so much. And even then, how much can I trust that? According to the handy conversion website I found, 30°C is only about 86°F. Really, Apocalypse??
However, the other day, Melanie and I were sharing stories of our families. She was describing a cousin to me, one she said was very tall- over two meters. Then I had to tell her, that sorry- I really have no clue what that means. A meter is a small yard, right? And a centimeter is a really small inch, no? The conversation expanded to our crazy world of Fahrenheit. That's right, Melanie- Fahrenheit. According to some cursory research only a few nations retain Fahrenheit. The US, Liberia, Myanmar, and Belize, together going strong with Fahrenheit! It does seem, interestingly enough, that the Fahrenheit system was developed by a German.
I have almost no perception of Celsius. Hmmm...I know (from Cordelia) that over 30°C is surely a sign of the apocalypse, but beyond that- not so much. And even then, how much can I trust that? According to the handy conversion website I found, 30°C is only about 86°F. Really, Apocalypse??
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