Friday, February 22, 2008

Red onions/ red peppers with pasta

I also wanted to use this Blog to update on my cooking development. I might also add book and movie opinions when they strike me.

Wed, 2/20/08
Cooked red onions, added red peppers. Added some tomato sauce and salt and pepper for a very yummy sauce for my noodles.
The red peppers made the onions very sweet.

Map Thoughts

Lately I've had so many ideas for interactive maps I could make! Yesterday I dragged Seth on this path I found by the Waldorfschule where I normally have orchestra rehearsals. At the top (literally top, it was somewhat of a climb) we found a small church and cafe over looking the city. We followed the path further and discovered a very small old castle-looking structure! It is only open in summer, but who knew this thing was even here! I then thought it would be so neat to take pictures of secret locations in Freiburg I find this year and plot them on a map for future AYF students.

I think I could use google maps as a base map... ooo or maybe I could use google earth and make a 3D map. A fellow student last year (Laura) made her final Geography 575 project on google earth and I really liked it because it was so easy to picture the actual landscape where she did her research. Therefore I know it is possible, it would just be the task of researching how to do it properly.

This brings me to my latest fascination on how advanced and convenient websites are becoming. Facebook uses Flash to load pictures faster and write messages in easy pop down boxes. It is my dream one day to discover no more clunky websites. It absolutely drives me crazy when I go to a website and can't find what I'm looking for.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

The first post of hopefully many

I like the idea of blogging. I've had several online journals and have greatly enjoyed updating them with my latest rants and raves. However the time always comes when I reread previous posts that I feel outraged at my previous beliefs or feel sheepish of saying too many details. "TMI" as my mom often puts it.

So to try to keep this blog for a longer period of time I've resolved to just not read old posts. And keep the conspiracies and college drunken mishaps to myself.

How's Germany? To sum up: great. I was asked yesterday whether I'm going to come home sporting Lederhosen and speak with verbs at the end of my sentences... it is a possibility... but just because I live in Germany, doesn't mean I'm transforming into a German. On the contrary! I've never read more American literature, listened to more American music, or discovered more about American culture in my previous 20 years put together. There is something about the distance from where one comes from, and the isolation of never truly fitting into another culture (sure immigrants are an exception, I'm more referring to year-long abroad students) that makes one truly grasp their national identity.

It also helps that I have way too much free time on my hands. I wish I could say I'm getting in SO much productivity but come on! I'm young and lazy! Luckily reading has been the most self-growing/learning activity I can do while still sitting on my bums. I'm so amazed how absolutely wonderful reading is... I know, it took me a while to figure it out.

It has also taught me that not having a TV makes me very creative in how to use my time. I've been crocheting, rollerblading, scrapbooking, listening to music, playing games with my german neighbors, walking around Freiburg. Now blogging! I would like to spend less time on this laptop, but baby steps first.

Anywho, traveling season is here (ich hab' ZWEI monaten semesterferien!), but first I must write my last essay on the philosopher Heidegger... in german... five pages... oy, I better get on that.