Don't Even Challenge Me to a Game of Charades

Withstanding gale-force German from the administrator at the University of Marburg's housing office as she went over the terms of my housing agreement (at least I was pretty sure that's what she was talking about), subsequently signing this contract that may as well have been written in Punjabi, and then handing over several hundred Euro, with a smile, must have been one of the most unsettling experiences in my life. I got through it by correctly waving around several other papers that an english-speaking administrator had told me I needed. Alright, maybe I am over-exaggerating. The administrators at the University of Marburg were actually very understanding of the guy who couldn't speak the language of the country he was living in. I've found that a similar trick works with credit cards. If I walk into a shop and simply brandish my credit card like it's a magic wand, that's as good as asking in German whether credit cards are accepted. However, plastic doesn't have quite the same magic in Germany. They like cash. One hungry night not long ago, I realized I didn't have bills on me and almost had a hard time finding dinner. Thankfully, I stumbled upon an ATM, and was able to supply you with the following beautiful picture of real German fast-food.

Just kidding. I hope the advertisement didn't fool you just because it was written in German. Although this picture may be unexciting, I think it's interesting to note that right across the street from the subway, which I'm sure was added in my lifetime, towers a church that was built well before Christopher Columbus was potty-trained. That's modern Germany for you. 

Here's a real staple of German fast food: the döner. Can you see all that slow roasted meat, covered in luscious lettuce, tempting tomato, coercive cucumbers, well you get the idea... Germany makes over 400 tons of döner meat daily, according to my source: (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304432704577350194262835880.html)

Check it out if you want to see how much they love it. After eating one, I understand why it's become so popular. I did have to use some charades to order one of these, since I didn't know the names of the optional toppings in German, and then there was real confusion when the guy started asking me in German whether I wanted it at the store or to go. 

Thankfully I haven't had to play too much charades with my lab group. Everyone can speak English. We recently had a barbecue by the Lahn (we set up a grill over on the left, behind the trees where dozens of people come to hang out at nights). It's a popular place, especially with the grocery store a block away, featuring 24-packs on sale for maybe five euro, and we're not talking PBR or something. Real German stuff. The sites around the Lahn occasionally give interesting sights like this as well. There are hundreds of locks on that bridge.

My pictures may not be very exciting this week. For breathtaking views and astonishing architecture you'll have to backtrack one post, or wait for my upcoming trip to Venice and Rome. There's also not a lot to report on the lab front, except that it's going well (Warning: I will now talk briefly about science. You don't have to tell me if you skip over parts of my blog) I've been getting acquainted with where everything is, been doing a lot of PCR, making a lot of gels, and setting up some mutagenesis. It's a lot of preparatory work, but the exciting data will come soon, and despite the occasional repetitiveness I've been enjoying the new lab setting. Playing soccer with some lab-mates today was fun too.

Surprisingly, I had to play a lot of charades in order to explain "tacos" to the other students on my floor of the dorms (I'm so lucky that I ended up in the Studentendorf). I guess it makes sense that Mexican food wouldn't be as popular here, but I hadn't really thought about it. Another thing I hadn't really thought about was ordering food in a German restaurant. I actually read up on how to order in German, exactly what to say and how to be polite about it... Then I walked into a real German restaurant and opened the menu. I realized I could order in German, but I wouldn't have any clue what I was ordering (Of course I eventually recognized the word schnitzel). Seriously, I've been practicing for charades.