Snippets

1.) I told my first joke in German. Usually my translating is too slow or my grammar is too poor to say anything witty. But yesterday a keeper showed me the red-footed tortoise enclosure, and I noticed what appeared to be an avian nest-box about seven feet up the wire mesh wall. I pointed at it and said (in German of course), "Kinda hard for the tortoises to use that, isn't it?" See, it's funny because tortoises can't climb or use nest boxes...Right.

2.) Every radio station I have heard in Germany--in cafes, in zookeeper kitchens, at the Christmas market--plays music in English. The DJs still speak in German, but very rarely have I heard a song with German lyrics. The funniest part about these stations is that their draw comes solely from the fact that they play music in English, so it has nothing to do with the actual merit or genre of the music. In one set of songs I heard first the theme from "Ghost Busters" (appropo of nothing, since it wasn't Halloween), then the Temptations song from the 60's "The Way You Do the Things You Do," followed by the latest single from American Idol's newest flash in the pan. Also, I have never heard so much Phil Collins.

3.) I feel as thought the keepers I have been meeting have gotten exponentially harder to understand. First I worked with keepers who spoke slowly and clearly. Then I worked with keepers who spoke quickly and mumbled. This week I discovered the challenges of communicating with a keeper who has a speech impediment. No kidding.

4.) My homesickness is better, but I still have days where I wish for a little more familiarity. One day last week I was on break with the keepers and one of them cleared her throat. Suddenly I missed my mom. My mom has a very individualized throat-clearing "ahem," and somehow Frau Driechciarz's (yeah, say that even ONE time quickly...) throat-clearing sounded close enough that it made me think of my mom.

5.) When referring to me in conversation, the zoo employees don't know what to call me. In German it is friendlier to call co-workers by their first names and address them using the informal grammatical structure. At the same time, it is often very impolite to use someone's first name if you don't know them well. If you can read my blog, you already know that English has no corresponding rule. None of the keepers know what to call me. To avoid being discourteous when saying things like, "I'm taking Suzanne with me today" or being stand-offish and saying, "I'm taking Frau Akerman with me today," the keepers instead refer to me as "die kleine Amerikanerin" sometimes. Literally this translates to "the little American." I will overhear, "Let the little American do that, you go muck the zebra stalls" or "The little American and I are done with the giraffees for the day."

6.) Some of the German keepers are interested in hearing me speak in English or in learning English words, and this is a great opportunity to create some comeraderie. This week I had the whole department roaring with laughter about the English word "squeegee."


A few quotes from my days here in Germany:


"She doesn't talk with a potato in her mouth!" An administrative assistant at the zoo (in German). She explained that native-German speakers make fun of American accents by saying we talk like we all have hot potatoes in our mouths.

"Your accent strong, but I unnerstand, so good job anyway," waiter with a faux-hawk (in English). Thanks, dude.

"Is it....a crocodile?" Four-year-old Paul (in German) when I drew him an ANT-EATER!