Hunt for the Red Baron

Photos are here!

I woke up early on Saturday and checked my maps to get to the Japanese bookshop I'd found online - and while doing so finally found the opening hours. It wasn't open until 10:00 so I hung around for a while and then headed in. I found it easily, and it has a good if small selection of books, magazines and comics with a scattering of Japanese food and 'fancy goods' like origami paper. I got a book of short stories by Miyazawa Kenji and one on 'How to be a proper member of society' (there are many of these quasi-etiquette books in Japanese), both on sale for 3 Euro. The full-price books are quite expensive, but all I want is some reading practice. I also got some writing paper, one of my favourite soft drinks and - after some advice from the very friendly staff - some powdered bonito stock to use in my nikujaga recipe. I stopped by the supermarket near the flat to get the ingredients, but they had no beef so it's going to be done with chicken this time.

Z was walking in to do his shopping as I was walking out, we stopped and chatted and I went home to get more information on Wiesbaden. Then at 1:00 we headed out! First stop was Hauptwache station, where we got the S-Bahn commuter service to Wiesbaden, which took just over 45 minutes. Google maps helpfully shows bus stops and what buses they're for, so after we coaxed some all-day bus tickets out of the machines we jumped on the No. 16 east to the Sudfriedhof cemetary. It was huge, spacious and much more like a park than a graveyard. The directions weren't great, but we eventually found what we were looking for - the grave of Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron.

He's been buried three times - once by the other side, with full military honours, near Amiens, then moved to a state war cemetary in Berlin, then moved again after his surviving brother Bolko asked for him to be buried in the family grave in Wiesbaden when Berlin was divided and Manfred's grave could only be visited by special permission as it was right up alongside the Russian zone. Both Manfred and his other brother Lothar were awarded the highest honour in Germany, 'pour le Merit'.

We headed back to the main train station and stopped for an ice cream - it was an absolutely glorious day, and we saw a temperature sign saying 20 degrees Centigrade. Z had a chocolate and cream sundae that rapidly degenerated into a lake of chocolate, and I had a scoop of chocolate, mocha and amaretto. You wouldn't want to drive after the amaretto.

Then it was back on the bus, this time the No. 1 north to Nerotal, a hill overlooking the town. The main attraction - for me anyway - is the Nerobergbahn, Europe's only water ballast funicular! The traditional stepped cars operate as a pair, with the car at the top of the hill pumped full of water to weigh it down - the driver of the downhill car controls the rate of release of water to ensure the uphill car is pulled smoothly to the top, then the water is dumped at the bottom of the hill and pumped back up again to be reused!

We wandered around the top of the hill for a while, admiring the view and the stone amphitheatre (and the rope/treetop adventure centre, just like the one in Bracknell Forest) before setting off to find a church built on the hill. We initially went the wrong way - Z was foolish enough to let me read the map - and wondered how you can't find an Orthodox church with five gold domes on the top of a hill. We came back to where we started, realised where we went wrong and soon saw the domes glinting through the forest. The church was being restored so we couldn't go in, but the outside and the view were impressive.

After a calf-killing return up the hill, we got back on the Nerobergbahn and took the No. 1 bus to the town centre. It had just gone 6:00pm, so the shops were closed with only some cafes and restaurants still open. We wandered around the old town and saw the church and market hall, then opted to get back to Frankfurt for dinner.

We went to the Japanese restaurant we'd happened across while wandering around the city a few weeks ago, Iwase. It is tiny, and we just managed to get two seats at the counter between reservations - the place is booked solid. There are about 16 seats plus 8 at the counter, and it is popular! Compared to our other favourite, Iroha, it was expensive but definitely worth it. I had a tempura set (with rice and soup) and some fried aubergine, and Z had a large sashimi plate set. I paid 30 Euro and his was 38 Euro, but it was delicious. We got talking to the people behind the counter - who had already guessed where we worked, as they said the only foreigners who spoke good Japanese were from Nintendo. They actually said 'like a native', which I was most chuffed by.

The owner had actually met the previous two presidents of Nintendo when they were over visiting - and there were a lot of Japanese there as well, always a good sign. They also operated a Japanese bar system, with multiple bottles of the same thing with the owners' names written on them behind the counter. We will definitely be back, although it's not something we could do every week. After chatting over refills of green tea, we finally headed back via a different supermarket that has a much better selection - must go there instead.

So, all in all, a fantastic day. I'd definitely go back to Wiesbaden and explore the town centre. And Iwase is officially a new favourite place. It was a glorious day, I had company and all went well.

The shadow over it all was waiting for me when I got home - an email from a friend working in Munich, who was suggesting days to come up and visit. Nothing wrong with with that, except that he was leaving Germany for tax reasons and after a morning looking up various contractor and government websites, I think I may have to pay tax here too. Although the UK's tax year runs from April - so I don't become non-resident while I'm here - the German tax year is the calendar year and they consider me automatically resident for tax purposes after I've been here for 183 days. In theory I should be paying German tax on income earned in Germany regardless of length of stay, but if it's under 183 days they assume it's covered under the double taxation agreements with the UK. I may need some professional help with this one...

Playtime is officially over

My new project at work is kicking off, I move to a new desk on the other side of the building on Monday. I will in all likelihood still spend lunchtimes with the other English translators though.

Which is not to say that I won't have any free time at all... I just can't continue doing other things quite as blatantly as I have been doing, i.e. printouts of MA assignments all over my desk.

I finally managed to get Firefox working (proxy issues) which means I can use the marvellous Rikaichan plugin, which is a pop-up Japanese-English (or -German or -French or -Russian) dictionary which activates when you hover over a Japanese word on a web page. Saving Word assignments as html and using Rikaichan on them is a great time-saver.

Minor miracle

I actually said something unrehearsed in German.

At the post office, I had my practiced lines for 'How much will it cost to send this package to England?' (it was going to Wales, but they don't seem to know where that is) and 'How much will it cost to send this letter to Ireland?' It all went off well and I even understood the numbers. It cost 9.30 Euro, I handed over a 50 Euro bill and then heard myself saying 'I have the 30'.

Wow. My first spontaneous German. Nothing amazing, but a first.

The second minor miracle was when I was nearly at the office - there's a big dual carriageway with signals to cross each one, so you have to wait in the centre for the next light. However, the woman crossing towards me must have seen the light on the far side and thought it was for her - it's the only thing I can think of - because she crossed as three lanes of traffic started moving off and turning left. Somehow, she wasn't hit and nobody crashed into anyone, although there are now some impressive tyre marks on the road. She seemed to have no idea, she just smiled vaguely at the man who nearly hit her.

Use with caution

Had a bit of an unpleasant surprise waiting in my postbox last night - a statement from Deutsche Bank. I have an online/phone account, so they charge for statements. I didn't ask for one. I don't want one. But they sent me one anyway, and if they send me one again they're going to start charging me 2.49 Euro per statement.

Apparently they're sending it to me because I haven't used a statement-printing machine in 6 weeks. Well, that's because I can see my account online. I neither want nor need to print statements. But now I'll have to haul myself up to either the branch one U-bahn stop from the office or the one on the far end of Zeil at least once a month or else they'll send me a statement and charge me for it.

Also, I've been being charged 4.99 Euro every time I withdraw cash. Turns out the 'EC Card' machine (and yes, I have an EC Card) in the supermarket is not linked to Deutsche Bank, and has been merrily charging me without any indication whatsoever. No 'You will be charged x.xx for this transaction. Do you want to proceed?' as you get in cash machines in pubs, betting shops and exhibition centres. Just silently skimming off 4.99 Euro every time.

So, I'll have to walk up to the aforementioned two banks or find one of the three partner banks to avoid this.

All very underhanded, and making UK banking look very good indeed. Did I mention I'm paying to have a current account as well? I don't object to that in theory, but the Euros keep adding up.

Fly me to the moon

I received an invite to my cousin's wedding today - well, an email saying he needed my address to send me one. They're getting married on the isle of Inisbofin, which Dad says is rather like the moon in terms of actually getting there.

I had a look at getting from Clifden to the ferry port, Cleggan, on Google Maps, and it's a bit like... looking at the moon. Either the satellite photography is a bit strange, or the landscape is.

Long Night of the Museums

Photos are here! (And for once Picasa uploaded them in proper time order...)

It isn't actually called 'Long', but I saw it somewhere else and thought it was a fun title. The basic premise is simple - for a 12 Euro ticket you get unlimited entry to 49 museums in and around Frankfurt between 7pm and 2am, with free buses, trams, tourist railway and ferries laid on.

I headed into town around 2pm to meet Z, who had texted me earlier. The weather was stunning, and we got some ice cream and managed to find a nice park to have it in. We headed back towards the main street to see if we could catch up with some other friends, but didn't in the end. Our favourite place, the Japanese restaurant Iroha, was closed between lunch and dinner so we had some pasta nearby instead. Z went home to do some songwriting and I went to buy my ticket, determined to go even if no-one else was.

Next stop was the riverside, where I finally got onto to one of the Primus Line ships that plys its way up and down the river, going east or west along the Main for 25 minutes before turning around, docking and going the other way. I got a ticket for the whole 100 minute east-west trip and enjoyed it immensely. I had decided to take my camera without the large bag to stay light, so of course the batteries started to run out as soon as I got on the ship, and I had no spares. I can always take the cruise again - it was only 9 Euros. There were fantastic views of the city, as well as the working ports and coal-fired power station. And just the joy of being on the water.

Two fit young men were attaching banners and lights for the Night of the Musuems on the side of the boat, all done with plastic ties. There was also what appeared to be a stag party on board, who descended into the first area I chose to sit in, so I moved on and ended up on the top deck with no seat, but that was fine. It was unfortunately also the smoking area, but when we docked to go the other way I managed to get a seat right up the front.

Once we got back to the riverside, it was getting chilly and I decided that although it was nearly 7pm I had better get something to eat. I headed back up through the Romersplatz and was rather dismayed at the massive queues outside the History Museum and the ticket stalls. I went back to Iroha, now open for dinner, and there was a slight misunderstanding (I was at a table for two, and the waitress who hadn't seated me thought I was waiting for someone and so didn't try to take my order) that cost me some time, but the food is always lovely. Fortified with teriyaki chicken, miso soup with mushrooms, rice and tea I headed back to the riverside.

I had done my plotting in the restaurant and decided to hit the Film Museum and Architecture Museum to see the anime exhibits I hadn't seen before, then the sculpture museum and finally the big one - the Städel Museum. The Primus Line were in action again as the free ferry for the night, so I hopped on and was whisked across the river to a pier just in front of the Städel Museum. I headed back up the way we'd come to get to the Film and Architecture Museums, which are conveniently next to each other.

The Film Museum exhibit was very good, with a section on different types of anime (shoujo, for girls; shounen, for boys; seinen for adult men and others) and also on European-Japanese co-productions that flourished in the 1960s. I recognised many series I'd seen as a kid in France there and it was nice to see them covered. It was a basic introduction, but an excellent one. There were also cels (hand-painted images on acetate sheets that are used to film the animation) for a number of series, including Kiki's Delivery Service and Mononoke Hime. And at the exit was a full-motion trailer for the computer game Final Fantasy XIII, which looked very impressive. (Link to video for Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII Versus)

The exhibit in the Architecture Museum was much more specialised, and focused on the Metabolist group of avant-garde architects active in Japan in the 1960s and how many of the urban landscapes or particular buildings in anime resemble their designs, particularly the skyscrapers lowering to become underground stalactites during attacks in Evangelion, or the prayer hall in Akira that looks like something by Kenzo Tange. They were showing anime in rotation in a secluded section of the room - in the middle of it - with Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell, Evangelion, Akira and others. There were also magnified panels from X-1999, a manga and anime by CLAMP which features the destruction of real Tokyo landmark buildings. It was very nicely done, and did a great job of linking the urban landscapes in anime in with these utopian architectural movements, even if it was very specialised.

I stopped off for a coffee in the ground floor bar, sent a text message to himself and Dad (who would no doubt be amused at the thought of being in a museum at 10pm) and had another look at my map.

One thing I have noticed about Germans - and maybe it was only that evening - but they have no concept of being in the way. People stop to talk, sit down, or just for no visible reason in doorways, gangways, staircases and narrow paths. And they have no compunctions about shoving in when they want to get somewhere, as I found when getting on and off the boat (no need to give way to your elders, they'll get there first) and when I was shoved into a doorframe in the sculpture museum by another older lady. The younger man behind her kindly let me past. Unpleasant memories of special exhibitions in Japan.

I walked past the Städel Museum again on my way to the sculpture museum, and there was still a queue, as well as a huge number of people eating and drinking on the lawn outside. The Liebieghaus, to give the sculpture museum its proper name, is fairly small but well laid out, and in a sense a perfect size as you stay interested throughout. Most of it is middle ages religious art with a little Asian religious sculpture. I'm not mad on religious themes, but there was one Pieta that was quite moving, with Mary's face shadowed by a scarf with an expression of quiet despair.

There was a good arrangement of exhibits that linked the different styles - unfortunately I managed to walk through some of it backwards - including Baroque, which was defined as initially a pejorative term for something over the top or grotesque but gradually gained a more positive meaning. The figures are huge and mighty and use poses from theatre, and the gloss on the walls explained it in terms of religious figures needing to create a greater impact on the common people to aggrandise themselves. The birth of spin?

I walked back to the Städel Museum, and there was still a queue. I was getting tired and wasn't sure I wanted to take it on, so decided to skip it and instead make for my back-up museum, the Museum fur Moderne Kunst, the modern art museum, which according to my (2004) guidebook had some Roy Lichtenstein. I was treated to the always impressive sight of the Primus Line doing the equivalent of a handbrake turn on the Main before boarding and being ferried back over to the north side of the river. (Ferries are right up there with trams, funiculars and cable cars as my favourite ways of getting places.)

On the way there, walking through the back of the still-heaving Romersplatz, I found another museum with a display of women impressionists, so detoured into the Schirn Kunsthalle. There were a large number of paintings and drawings by each of four artists, and again I went around it my own way (although they didn't seem to be arranged in any particular order that I could see) so I had fun guessing what year the work was from by how the artist evolved into and out of a classical impressionist style. Some of the impressionist/pointillist paintings were amazing, and two of the artists developed a very detailed pen and ink style afterwards, as if in reaction to the soft-focus impressionist style.

I didn't find any Roy Lichtenstein at the Museum fur Moderne Kunst around the corner, but from the museum website it seems they change around up to half the rooms every 6 months. What I did find was a huge exhibition of works by Bernard Buffet, which was very, very interesting. His 'Horrors of War' looked like an updated vision of hell from Bruegel, his self-portrait looks astonishingly like Jamie Hewlett's Murdoc from the virtual band Gorillaz, and he paints the most unsexy naked people I've ever seen.

Finding even one artist I like in a modern art museum is something for me, and I wasn't that interested by anything else, including frame-shaped bits of string and photos that if they were taken by anyone else would have been binned. A band was playing 1950s and 1960s French cafe music downstairs, and the building itself was very nice, all big and small spaces and brightly-lit white walls which woke me up a bit. I staggered out at 12:45am.

The Starbucks in Romersplatz was still open, so I got a (very mediocre) hot chocolate and made my weary way home. Threw all my drying off the bed onto the floor (there's something wrong with the dryer in the building so everything came out damp) and goodnight Frankfurt.

Hardcore Culture

When was the last time you came home from a museum at 1:30am?

Details later today... for now I need to get all my drying off my bed so I can get into it...

Friday night's all right for

... staying in, this time. My colleagues evaporated at the end of the day, to play football, go home and nurse a cold or in one case to buy an X-Box 360 and hit the town courtesy of a rebate from the German taxman.

I passed on information about the 'Night of the Museums' tomorrow, but no-one seemed interested so I'll probably be doing that on my own as well. I should at least get some photos, and I might go in earlier and walk around and maybe take a boat trip up and down the river.

Must get out more, lack of German notwithstanding.

Her story

Finished Unit 5, which is the last distance-learning unit for Social Studies. After this it's the translation (waiting for it to arrive in the post in Reading), seminars at the residential week and essay.

There was some reading material in the course pack that went into mercifully brief detail about how 'comfort women' (a euphemism if ever there was one) were 'recruited' to serve at Japanese army stations during the Asia-Pacific War through WWII. It put me into my own private nightmare for the 40 or so minutes I spent reading it. After closing the coursepack, I felt like the sunny day, colleagues giggling as they sent instant messages and BBC story about banks losing their case on charges were all quite unreal.

(For anyone interested, the text was 'Procurement of Comfort Women and their Lives as Sexual Slaves' by Y. Tanaka, in Japan's Comfort Women: Sexual Slavery and Prostitution during World War II and the US Occupation, London, Routledge 2002)

So, tonight I have to record my presentation and tomorrow it's report writing... I should be grateful for the chance to get all this done in work time, it would have been a really hard slog in the evenings and weekends otherwise. Speaking of which, it's nearly Friday again - I really should plan something. There's a bank holiday Thursday next week too.

After getting out of work on time, I ran up to my flat (No. 32, but actually on the 4th floor) and grabbed some washing and my box of powder, then went down to the basement - to find the machine in use, and unhelpfully it doesn't say how long it has left to go. So, back up again. That's my stairclimbing for the day.

Back at Uni

I finished off Unit 3, did all of Unit 4 and edited my presentation - left everything at work, forgetting that I needed the script for the presentation to record it. Oh well, I can do it tonight...

Today I'm bringing in Unit 5 and if I can get that done I'll see if I can start on my report-writing assignment on Friday. Getting quite into this now, it's like being back at my Japanese school.

One of the reasons I left everything at work yesterday was to run into the main shopping street and look at steamers and rice cookers. The only place I could find selling them was Saturn, they had one huge rice cooker (and I keep reading reviews saying that if you only put small amounts of rice in large cookers, it burns) and the steamers were much, much larger than I thought. Basically, it would have taken up all my food preparation space...

I also grabbed a ham & gouda sandwich from the supermarket on my way in - and in contrast to my experiences so far, it was the worst spongy, crumbly white bread I've had in a very long time.

Zombie time

I was just about awake and staggering around when my doorbell went at 8:15am - it was the landlord with my receipts for the internet access and a promise of getting the hall light fixed. I hope my spiky-haired, pyjama-clad, non-glasses wearing demeanour didn't scare him too badly.

Work was insanely boring again. There were a few emails about something I'm no longer really involved in, then I set to work seriously damaging my brain by getting stuck in to my Social Studies module. I did manage to get most of it done... but I'm not sure I remember anything.

We had a planned power outage at lunch, so we headed off as a team to the Japanese restaurant near the Disney tower. Wonderful salt-fried fish with rice, soup, seasonal veg and pickles for me - others had sukiyaki, tempura or sashimi. Wonderful though it was, it took us nearly an hour and a half to get there, eat and get back, so we were all in until 6:30 or later.

It was so nice I spent a while on the internet looking for rice cookers - or possibly a steamer that does rice... but I wasn't sure if the shops closed at 7 or 8, and I wasn't going to make it very far by 7. So I contented myself with going to the supermarket next door and getting the ingredients for nikujaga, a Japanese stew. I didn't have the dashi fish stock, but it turned out pretty well. I'm quite proud of myself for doing my pilates and cooking on a evening when I felt like getting into bed as soon as I got home...

More boredom (and Social Studies) forecast for the rest of the week.

Worth getting up early for

My doorbell just went - I have no idea how to operate the buzzer, so I just ran downstairs. Mr. Bock (there's an umlaut in there) turned out to be a young, cheerful and pleasant shaven-headed man in company body-warmer. He seemed genuinely pleased with the chocolate-covered strawberries I had as a thank-you. It's hard enough to buy anything for guys I do know, let alone ones I don't.

The box was covered in customs tape - they had cut open the bottom and removed the packing list from its outside packet, then put it inside the box. Everyone seems to have had this packet before me. I wasn't charged anything though - maybe they don't count postage...

Anyway, it's just as cute as it looked on the site.

Good deeds...

... never go unpunished, as Mom likes to say. But not always.

Despite thinking about heading to the zoo or taking one of the tourist cruises, I spent today sleeping in (needed), getting my IM software to speak to AIM (horrific! Required installing additional software, creating an account on a server goodness knows where and getting my own AIM account) and feeling ill - not sure why, I ate exactly the same things I had yesterday and I was fine then.

I did get a lot done on my Japanese Spoken Language assignment which is due in on Friday. I must do a test reading to see if it comes out at 2 or 10 minutes (the usual margin of error for me if it's supposed to be 5).

And I checked the noticeboard for my MA year for Japanese Spoken Language to see if there was anything new, and found a plea for good Japanese internet radio. I had a look, was quite disappointed by NHK, but persevered and was rewarded with a weekly Ghibli podcast from Tokyo FM! It's busily downloading now. Joy.

Eureka

While not getting a good night's sleep and rampant boredom may be to blame for some of my zombiness this week, another potential culprit has stepped up. Although the classic symptom of swollen eyelids hasn't shown, the distinctive itching in the inner ear finally did. It happens every year, and I still never recognise it until I've been feeling out of sorts for a week - yep, my hayfever is back.

In another feat of what-would-we-do-without-the-internet, I looked up the generic name for the active ingredient in my favourite antihistamine and managed to get it at the local pharmacy, in its generic form, for 7 Euro for 20 tablets. Result.

The weather forecast was spot on, it's raining and grey and chilly. It's supposed to be better tomorrow. I'll write my postcards for Japan - they didn't have any 1 Euro stamps at the post office, but I have some 55 cent ones with poppies and 45 cent ones with daisies instead. I should also do some more work on my presentation - which needs to be turned into a 5-minute recording by next Friday - but I feel more like studying German. I'm sick of sounding like I have a mental age of 2.

In other news, I've been asked to consider staying on until the end of September (a month longer than my current contract) to work on a new project. Fine in principle, and they have signed off my holidays for the craft fair I'm doing and my residential week. Need to be careful about being in Japan at the right time for my brother getting there after Mongolia though. And, like the project that has just ended, I won't be doing any translation. Just supporting the people using English as a source and spotting errors in the existing translation. No idea if I'll be allowed to correct them or not yet.

It's incredibly frustrating. I came here to translate, not edit. I know editing and checking are also valuable skills, but they're not the ones I'm after right now... I may have to try to find something to do on the side to get the experience I want.

A whole new challenge

I was gearing up to try to deal with a 'we called but you weren't in' card from the post office, but what I got was that plus the business card of someone who I think is doing plumbing work in the building next door. Apparently, he has my package.

Do Royal Mail or An Post do this? Hand packages over to tradesmen who aren't even working in the place?

Anyway, a short and painful phone conversation later, the nice man will be here at 7:30am on Monday with my package. I'll be getting up early then.

WTF?!, as they say.

Phew

Just sent in my mini annotated translation, which is a weight off my mind. I really liked having the time to go through it again and again - I kept seeing new things each time, and felt like I really got to grips with what the author was trying to say. It's not a feeling I've had often, and it was a good one.

For anyone who's interested, it was part of a essay by Miyazaki Hayao from the collection Shuppatsuten ('Starting Points'). I would put the name in kanji, but Firefox is cranky and not accepting Japanese input. So much for the bulletproofness of Macs.

I will officially be off the project I'm on at the moment next week, which will mean a little less wait-and-hurry-up, I hope. Today was particularly bad, where I'd bored myself into a stupor by the time any work turned up about 3pm. It makes it so hard to concentrate on what I'm supposed to be doing. A mistake in the terminology lists and the producer asking me to get someone to proofread my changing 3 words (so I had a typo in the files - I was the one who found and corrected it and it's not like the Japanese head office noticed when they approved the change - end rant) didn't help.

Bought some postcards, but feel too braindead to write them tonight - all for Japan.

Should really do something on the weekend - Z is organising dinner on Friday, so I think he's finally been paid - but I may just sleep and play sloth. Despite thinking I slept better this week I was still fairly shattered today. Unless it is just the boredom.

There is an easy option for a day out - even on Sunday! - in the form of the Zoo. Saturday is forecast to be cold and raining, so it might be a good day to be in anyway.

The best laid plans

Just as I finally thought I was getting to grips with my MA work, I realise that not only does my translation need to be with the department on Friday... they want it by post. Plan B - applied for an extension, researched the German equivalent of Special Delivery, wrote reminders to myself in big block capitals to print everything out at work on Thursday, and bought some A4 envelopes on the way home.

Only to find that in response to my request for an extension, the department quite happily said I could email it all. In complete contrast to the schedule and the Handbook they so love referring me to. Anyone need some envelopes?

They also forgot to put the translation for the Social Studies course (the one where each unit is taking me several days) in the course pack, so that is coming - guess - in the post.

At least I've finally finished the glossary checking at work. I may get my brain back.

Crash

We appear to be having a massive thunderstorm. I wondered what the noise was - I had my headphones on while studying and only noticed when I got up to get something. (Listening to UNKLE remixes atm, forgot how good they were).

A whole degree too far

I'm trying to finish up my Sheffield annotated translation - the first half of the first essay in Miyazaki Hayao's book 出発点 (Shuppatsuten or Starting Points). In it he speculates on why anime is so popular among 12-15 year olds. I decided to have a look online to see if I could find anything to say if that was still the case or not...

... and came across a whole load of people who are taking it all way too seriously. I love the stuff, but the idea of being 'a social scientist specializing in otaku studies' or my 'research interest' being 'the English-language "boy's love" manga's [sic] online fan community' is a bit much.

Rain check

I was most grateful for my new USB memory stick on Thursday, as I didn't have anything to do other than edit my Translator's Introduction and read the instructions for my practice presentation until about 2pm. Then the terminology checking was finally available with Japanese, and it's going to take another 2-3 days to finish. It's the kind of thing that leaves you completely cross-eyed, dazed and unable to spot your own name in a list. But anyway.

There was a notice on Thursday morning for going out to see the Luminale, a festival of light that is on for a week every year in Frankfurt and surrounds. I hadn't realised it was on... even if I walk into town, I'm on the near side of the main shopping area and so didn't go past any of the museum or riverside installations. I passed on it on Thursday, thinking I'd get a decent night's sleep and go on Friday instead with the camera.

I spent Friday - the last day of the Luminale - looking at rain. The temperature had dropped drastically and I reluctantly decided that there was no way I was taking the camera out. (I'm sure getting rain in the lens doesn't harm it, but it makes me nervous... You can see some pictures of the festival here.)

Instead I met up with Z and G and we went to Iroha, a very nice Japanese restaurant near Eschenheimer Tor (aka the Disney Tower). M, an Italian translator joined us and after G headed home we went to an Italian bar-restaurant near our building. It was, without a doubt, the liveliest place we've been to since we got to Frankfurt. The decor is great, there was a buzz from the crowd and the food looked lovely (we will go there another time to eat).

M was giving out about Z not drinking (religious reasons) - I thought he was going to drop when I told him I didn't either. He complained vociferously about it with the Italian owner, who looked equally unimpressed. He had been planning to treat me to a glass of Zaccagnini, which is made near his home town. (If anyone manages to try some please let me know what it was like!)

After a chat we headed home - it's great when you find somewhere nice within a few minutes walk - and I stayed up watching some anime. Saturday morning is for sleeping in after all.

I headed out around midday, walking up to a bookshop near G's where I'd seen something I wanted to buy as a present - but that was several weeks ago and it was gone. Damn. The sun was out and I had to stop to take off my jumper, even with just a t-shirt under my coat I was nearly too hot. I headed into town, and was walking past a guy in his late twenties or early thirties when two cyclists came towards us (cycling on the pavement is de rigeur here, in or out of the cycle lane and regardless of whether or not there is actually enough room). I passed him quickly and moved over in front of him to let the cyclists through.

The reason why I mention that is that it was the only thing I could think of that might have pissed him off. A moment later he stepped on the heel of my shoe, and when I looked back he said something to me that obviously wasn't an apology. I said sorry, I don't speak German, to which he replied 'Speak German?' and then went off in German again. He spoke quite a bit before saying a pointed 'goodbye' in English. I slowed down and let him get ahead of me, trying to figure out what it was all about.

He stopped, turned around and watched me coming as if waiting for me. I walked to the nearest crossing and stood next to some people, using looking for traffic as an excuse to see where he was. I lost sight of him, but after I crossed I could see that he had stayed on that side of the road and I dropped even further back on the other, feeling more like the stranger in the strange land than ever. After wandering around and not concentrating on what I'd come in for, I got some t-shirts and a set of hand weights for my pilates and went home via the supermarket. Nothing like a ham and cheese sandwich to make you feel better.

This afternoon I've mainly been failing to make a huge amount of progress on my Sheffield work, some of which is due in next Friday and some more the Friday after. I also need to do some washing, but when I walked downstairs to the washing machine (down four stories, then outside and into the basement) someone was using it, so I had to walk back up - I'll try again later. Here's hoping things get back into sync.

Wrong, wrong, wrong

This is, unbelievably, a new game for the Nintendo DS.

Link to Flash/Windows Media/Quicktime video trailer (3:45)

The worst is that at the end, they promise that you'll learn 'living English'...

Seeing red

Walking into work yesterday, I saw something that I have seen before - but not up so close! Two small squirrels - they looked like babies to me, but could just be a smaller species - were scampering up the road towards the park I cut by the corner of on my walk. They hopped out onto the road, then back onto the pavement when a car came by. I stopped near the corner as one backtracked, and it ran past about a foot away. It was red! I have no idea if it was a bona fide red squirrel or if squirrels are different here. Z, who had left the building just after me, caught up with me at that point.

I got my PIN number. I appear to have been paid my first three invoices in one go. Today was wet and miserable, so I abandoned my plan to walk over to the electronics shop near G's and instead took the U-bahn into the centre of town and went to another branch there to get some DVDs to back up onto and clear some space on the hard drive, and also a USB memory stick so that I can take some Sheffield stuff into work. I suspect that my days of doing nothing apart from jumping on the four or five bugs reported will soon be at an end (the project ends at the end of next week) but I really have done all the playing of the game and surfing on the internet that I can stand. I'd rather study.

White out

Even after hearing David's tale of woe about getting back to London (held over Heathrow until fuel ran low because one runway was closed by snow, went to Birmingham to fill the tank, then back to Heathrow and waiting for a gate) I never thought of it snowing here. It had been cold but nowhere near freezing on Sunday night.

So it was with some surprise that I walked out this morning to be greeted by a good 3cm crust of snow on the cars, although it was mostly melting and running off roofs to hit unwary passers-by. I regretted not having my gloves. I spent a good part of the day staring out the windows at the snow being blown around by high winds, although it had calmed down (and mostly melted) by the time I went home.

Good news was that I have been paid, although I'm still waiting for my PIN so I can access the money without going to the bank. The other bit of good news is that the agent for the flats has agreed to bring down the price of our internet access, which was ridiculously high.

Other than that, still trying to get through work for Sheffield. My annotated translation is due end of next week, my presentation topic the week after, and I need to keep on working on the social sciences one as each unit is taking me at least a day to complete. If I don't keep on top of it, I am going to be in trouble...

Had my dashi-iri miso for the first time today - it's miso (fermented soy bean paste) with a fish stock blended into it, making it an instant Japanese soup base. It was absolutely delicious. I think I will be going for this in future...

Big spender

After sleeping in on Saturday morning, doing not much and finally doing some homework for Sheffield, I decided that having 3 Euro in my pocket when I had plenty of money in the UK was silly, and the overseas withdrawal charge be damned. My bank appear to finally be showing it as a separate item, so at least I knew what it was.

I used the ever useful Google Maps to find local cash machines (Geldautomaten) but it only showed me some banks - ATM got others but also something completely different with the same acronym. I decided to look for 'bank' instead and found one just across the road from the U-bahn station. Being a Saturday afternoon it was of course closed, and there were no cash machines outside. Yet more ways in which Germany is like Japan.

(And there is a version of Japlish - such as the lingerie ad with the strapline 'Just feel like a volcano'.)

I gave up and headed into town, as I knew there were cash machines in external walls there. I used one that Z had used a few weeks ago, belonging to what seems to be the local co-op. There was the usual will-it-won't-it moment as it did its international authorisation voodoo, but then it made a soft but unmistakable cash-dispensing noise. Going from an empty wallet to a full one is a nice feeling - a bit like from an empty stomach to a full one.

Making my way to the main street (Zeil) I picked up a battery charger (which was 8 Euro when identical ones next to it were 10, result) with two high capacity Ni-MH batteries, some more socks (despite going back to the UK for more clothes, I seem to have left half my socks there) and finally to the Asian shop we'd found before, where I treated myself to a gorgeous green-glazed ramen bowl (the bowls I have are so shallow you can't even put a full can of soup in them), some udon and soba noodles and some miso as well as a pair of chopsticks. The idea of eating noodles without chopsticks is somehow deeply wrong.

I walked back to the Rewe supermarket near the flat, which despite being reasonably large manages not to have much of a selection. I got some supplies and some crisps and Quark with herbs for going to G's the next day and headed home. My wallet was 45 Euro lighter, but I was much happier.

Got back to doing my homework, didn't realise how long I'd been out and ended up finishing the unit (reading about methodological issues in historical research - in Japanese) at 1:30am. Lots of chatting to David in NY and watching videos of kittens and bunny rabbits from the internet did not help - what did people do before broadband...

So, slept in again today and did some more work and off to G's soon for fighting games and such nonsense.

No, this is reality

Some American children apparently unable to distinguish between anime and real life.

Reminds of the Father Ted gag - "No, Dougal. Small - far away."

Business as usual

Friday already! Sorry there haven't been any posts but there's not much to report.

The weather is getting a little milder, and I'm still enjoying the walk to and from work. It's at the point where you still need a coat or a sweater but not both, and the hat and gloves are staying at home.

Work has been quite frustrating, with the usual bursts of high activity and panic followed by long periods of waiting for it to happen again. It puts me in a strange, detached state of mind. I don't know if it's that or too much coffee or something else, but I haven't been sleeping too well.

That combined with still waiting for my bank card means that I've been staying in in the evenings, doing some study for Sheffield as I'm a little behind, and chatting online with David.

So - no news, but all is well!

You know it's Monday when

There were actually some not-so-good bits of the weekend, which I'd completely forgotten about as they were most definitely outweighed by the good bits. We went out on Saturday night to meet a friend of Aodan and Annette's at a pub, he was celebrating the birth of twins. Had a great time chatting with Aodan and a friend of his who is studying Japanese.

But you can still smoke in pubs in Koln. I'd forgotten how absolutely horrible it is to start coughing and rubbing your eyes, wanting to put all your clothes in the wash as soon as you get back (and I was wearing mine the next day) and then to crown it all your hair reeks of stale smoke...

And while I was having my hot chocolate in the museum, a bead came off my necklace - which is a woven one, so it means the thread is broken. I should probably restitch the whole thing... which will be many hours of work, but I suppose it is one of my oldest pieces and I should have taken better care of it.

And for the Monday - I put the clock forward and reset the alarm, but forgot to turn the alarm function on. Woke up 45 mins late. Went to the bank, my contact was busy. Managed to communicate my problem to the non-English speaker at the desk (PIN and part of online banking security received, card and other part of online banking security not received). But then, of course, couldn't understand the reply. A man who spoke English was produced and he explained to me that for reasons best known to themselves Deutsche Post had sent my card back to them, despite delivering the rest. A new one was ordered and I should have it all by the weekend. But I still haven't been paid, so the HR people will look into that.

The washer and drier were finally installed in the building! I had saved up a huge stack of 50 cent coins to use them, but they ended up taking 1 Euro coins. So I hauled myself out to the laundrette, which I'd checked out on the way home on the assumption I still wouldn't have any facilities in the building. It's a massive affair with a change machine, and instructions in English! I was as usual pathetically grateful.

So, for 5 Euros and 2 hours of my time (mainly spent playing Pokemon Blue Rescue Team) I got the washer, powder and conditioner and an immense Miele dryer which had everything bone dry in 30 mins. My pyjamas were even still warm when I got home. While unloading the dryer, I found I was missing two socks - I checked the washing machine and sure enough they were there, wedged into a corner. As I made a face at them, the German woman beside me smiled wryly - the one-legged sock thief obviously exists here too.

Tired, but very happy, and with a cupboard full of clean clothes. There have been worse Mondays.

Cologne! (or how not to catch a train)

Back from a fantastic weekend in Cologne, or Koln, mainly thanks to the wonderful and expansive hospitality of my hosts, Aodan and Annette. Aodan has picked up a huge amount of lore about the city, and kept me laughing for a lot of the trip.

Pictures are here!

I nearly didn't get there - leaving in plenty of time on Saturday morning, I decided to walk to the main Frankfurt station. I was fine until Eschenheimer Tor, which I've walked to often, but then made a wrong turn while thinking I knew where I was going and found myself off to the northeast, on the street that runs off beside the flat. I had 14 minutes before the train. Why oh why didn't I just get the U-bahn? I know how apt I am to go off on a complete tangent even armed with maps.

I power-walked in some desperation back to the nearest U-bahn station, but it wasn't a line that ran to the main train station. But there were taxis. We hit every red light in the city. The elderly driver was very chilled out. But he got me to the station, I knew the platform from the detailed Deutsche Bahn printout, and by some considerable feat of luck the doors I came in led straight to the platform I needed. Two minutes to spare. Told myself off.

There was a group of very loud natives with a mini keg and huge sausages (being eaten with a tube of ketchup) sitting across both tables, one of which held my reserved seat. Decided I couldn't be bothered, and as the train wasn't that full I just sat in another seat. Proprietor of said seat boarded at the airport, so I just stood until everyone had found their seat and sat in a vacant one. The ticket inspector didn't care, so I could finally relax. Read MA stuff on the way up, deeply depressing accounts of what the Japanese did, mainly to Koreans, forcibly drafted as 'comfort women' during the Asia-Pacific war.

The next stop, just an hour and ten minutes from Frankfurt, was Kolnhauptbanhof. There's no missing the cathedral - just come out the exit marked 'Dom' and there it is blocking the entire skyline. I wandered around the outside for a bit, then went in and bought a self-guiding booklet and proceeded to walk around the inside. An embarrassment of riches makes it impossible to decide whether to look up, down or all around. I never feel quite right taking photos in places of worship, but I seemed to be the only one. I kept the flash off, at the risk of camera shake, but the light was great - it was a lovely day - and I didn't have a single bad shot.

After seeing the inside, I headed out through the shop and got a few postcards and a fridge magnet as a souvenir. I thought of heading further afield, but was aware that Aodan might call. I remembered that there was a spire you could climb so walked around to the end of the cathedral and found it. Paying my 2 Euro, I headed up.

Now, normally I'm fine with stairs. If you're visiting mountainside temples in Japan you need to be. But at least they have proper steps. It was nothing like edging up a worn circular stone staircase, on the inside with no banister and the thin edge of the triangular step, trying to hold on to the core of the stairs while taking great care to place your foot so that you get as much step as possible under it but don't catch your shoe on the step as you go up. All the time very painfully aware that it would only take someone on the way down tripping or catching my rucksack to knock me backwards. I had to stop briefly twice on the way up - when there was no-one coming down and I could step over to the banisters and let the terribly fit elderly Germans coming up behind me overtake - my calves were burning and I was breathing hard. Finally got to a point where the up and down stairs broke off, and stopped for a while to get my breath and try to stretch my legs out. There were more stairs to go. At least these were newer, wider and (for at least some of it) not circular, with banisters.

Once at the top I was mostly moved along by the crowd, got some good shots and headed down, stopping off at the bell tower. It was much easier, both because I had the banister and wider stairs, and because my calves were getting a break. I must have been using cycling muscles or something, I didn't think it would be that easy. There were even more people coming up, so looks like I got out just in time. There was graffiti everywhere, all over the walls of the staircase and even on the spire itself.

Frankly, unless you love stairclimbing and are combining travel with exercise, I recommend buying the postcards of the view at the entrance. I can confidently put this way up on Mom's list of places to say 'Let's not and pretend we have!' to.

After staggering out of the church I tried to find somewhere to sit and read the guidebook while waiting for Aodan. The only place with seats in the station was Starbucks, where I ordered an expensive latte which I'm not sure had any coffee in it at all. Missed Aodan's call, and realised I can't get into my voicemail as the voice of a nice German lady is giving me some kind of setup instructions I don't understand.

We headed out to the church of St. Ursula, a lady who travelled to Rome to dedicate herself to the church to avoid a marriage, had a dream that if she came back the same way she would die, and dutifully did so - martyred with ten maids to become the eleven martyred virgins. A brisk trade in bone relics sprung up, fuelled by the Roman graveyards... eventually so many were sold that the number of ill-fated virgins grew to 11,000. (There is also a Koln joke that there have never been that many virgins in Koln.)

The Golden Chamber in the Church of St. Ursula where someone's bones are preserved in Gothic splendor were unfortunately closed, so we instead wandered off to look around the town, including a strange sculpture with a woman with a lantern and loads of little men. The invading Prussians were so annoyed with the laid back and work-shy attitude of Kolnians that one of them invented a story of a bunch of 'little men' who built and ran the town while its residents slept in a drunken stupor. One night a tailor's wife put peas down on the ground, the little men stumbled on them and she caught sight of them - they were so offended they disappeared. Leaving Koln in the state the Prussians found it in, where they managed to convince the locals that the cathedral (which had been as it was for 300 years) wasn't actually finished. The relic and pilgrimage trade had been so good they hadn't bothered to complete it.

There were tales of Carnival, an alcoholic and musical riot preceding Lent, and the city gent/country bumpkin duo who supply much of the town's humour. And more sobering, small metal squares set in the ground, everywhere, before the houses of Jews killed by the Nazis, bearing their names and how the died. Not a city endeavour, but a lone stonemason's mission.

We walked around the banks of the Rhein for a while, then headed back to Aodan and Annette's very nice flat, passing the Schokolademusuem on the way. Koln is quite compact, so it was nowhere near as far away as I thought. We had a fantastic broccoli and blue cheese soup made by Aodan and talked well into the night about the past, the future (they will become parents in July/August and have bought a house in part of an under-conversion listed farm building) and how what you worry about changes as you get older and how hard it is to keep up with everyone who could be a good friend.

The hour went forward, so that combined with a long sleep and a long and late breakfast got me to the Schokolademuseum around 2pm. I was thinking of going to another museum as well, probably a 20th Century one near the cathedral, but it didn't happen. There's a lot in the Schokolademuseum, about the cocoa bean (they even have some trees in a tiny hothouse) and how it is processed, where the growing and processing happens, and what the demand is. The figures were from 1997 (and in Deutschmarks) so I'm sure it's even more impressive now. Then there was a mini-production line with real live little chocolate ingots coming off it, samples of melted milk chocolate on wafers dispensed by a white-suited Lindt employee from an enormous chocolate fountain, a huge section on advertising and packaging and finally cult chocolate products and the history of Lindt & Sprungli.

I sat down for a bite to eat in their cafe, and was delighted to find I was able to order - although the fact that what I ordered was a 'ham und cheese toast' helped. I also had a hot chocolate, which was very, very sweet. Nice, but you didn't want a second one. I've never been mad on Lindt milk chocolate.

Last, and most fatal, was the shop. Only the fact that I conserving my Euros until I get my bank card saved me from diabetic coma. I came out with a whiskey and chili bar for Aodan, a dark (62% cocoa) milk Java single origin bar for me, and some Venezualan (43% milk) and Ghanaian (85% dark) pastilles for work. My Javan one is nice - starts off with a dark chocolate kick but has milk chocolate mellowness aftwards.

Met up with Aodan and Annette again at (another) Starbucks and chatted to them and their friends until it was time to go for the train. Decided to U-bahn it and was told which lines. Decided to go to the loo, but for some reason didn't factor in the wait for it to become available out of the time left to get to the station. Aodan was looking dubious as I left and I soon realised why - as I got into the station, the station clock said I had 11 minutes. Ran for the platform. Got nervous and finally realised, as I missed one train in each direction, that I was on the wrong platform. Got the next train of the correct line, two stops. Got out at Koln Hauptbanhof at the time my train was departing. Ran for it anyway, as I had the platform number. Got turned around looking for the platforms after coming out of the U-bahn, but finally saw them - and the train was still on the departure boards. Ran. Jumped on. It was four minutes past departure time.

As the Japanese say, even monkeys fall from trees. The ever-reliable British 'maybe the train will be late' worked. Found my seat and collapsed. Got a fantastic view of the cathedral on the way out and a 'glad you got the train' from Aodan in response to texting him about it. Was going to study some German on the way back, but found the files for the Berlitz course had failed to copy onto my mp3 player, so listened to music, looked out the window and read the book instead. Took my safe travel charm from Fushimi Inari Daisha out of my passport, gave it a rub and thanked it profusely - I had had much too much luck to believe it.

Successfully bought some bread at the station and U-bahned home. Looking forward to another trip sometime - I could go to Koln again, there are loads more museums and churches, or Annette recommended Heidelberg, which isn't far away. Hmmm.

Oooooh

Cologne has a Schokoladenmuseum.

Victory!

Topped up my phone at the supermarket. There are little plastic cards at the end of some of the tills with '15 Euro' and 'T-Mobile' written on them, you take them to the till and they scan them, then you punch your phone number into the PIN keypad twice, et voila! Chuffed.

A day full of unnecessary complications, mistakes, annoyance and reworking. But I left on time as there was nothing that couldn't be deferred until tomorrow.

Feel a bit lurgified (proper UK English) and went into the supermarket to look for whatever Germany uses for Lemsip. There didn't seem to be anything - they sell vitamins and what look like nuclear-war level herbal teas, but no aspirin or other serious stuff. I suppose there is a reason for all the Apothekes I see around. Another example of a strange boundary shift in everyday life.

Other than that, not much. Cold but no more snow. Looking forward to visiting Cologne at the weekend.

Have a look at a very cute coyote.

Stop that right now

Okay day at work, finally managed after a day and a half to find out what they actually wanted and got it done.

Got back, did pilates. Got four successive terrifying crunches out of my spine.

Received an email saying my card had been declined and was unable to log in to online banking despite being certain my details were correct. Tried to call the bank on my online calling card only to be told my calling account was suspended. Had a momentary ID-theft panic.

Called the bank on my German mobile, was kept on hold then told everything was fine on my online banking, then put on hold again and then told everything was fine with my card, they hadn't received the request that said it was declined.

Phone credit ran out halfway through that one. Great way to burn through 30 Euro.

The short version of the slightly white long weekend

Thursday morning wasn't so great - I didn't sleep well and managed to rip the jeans I was going to wear. After stuffing my washing into my bag I headed out early to get to the bank. My card hadn't arrived yet, so I had scribbled down some phrases to explain that and ask if they could tell me what my balance was and could I make a withdrawal. Got through the first bits okay, only to find that my balance was the money I had put in - so I didn't need the last bit. Batting away the remnants of my dreams of buying giant Golden-Hasse (Lindt Gold Bunnies in the UK) as presents, I trudged into work.

A French translator introduced himself to me on the way in, people I didn't know smiled and said hi, and it was generally lovely. An impending long weekend will do that to people, but I chose to take it personally. The UK team were going out to a German restaurant that evening, which I would miss, but we did have lunch together in the Chinese. I got out relatively on time and was surprised by the mere 3.90 Euro and 45 minutes it took to get to the airport.

We had some loud but otherwise harmless youth until the main station, then they swapped out with football supporters on their way to a local game - beer and singing aplenty. A British guy remarked to his neighbour that beer, football and youth were a bad mix and was agreed with - he assumed he'd found a fellow Englishman but the guy was actually from Frankfurt. Herr Britisch then went on to quote Shakespeare and go beyond the limit of the man's excellent English, which struck me as pretentious and annoyed me (especially seen how useless my German is).

After sending me an online check-in email, BA then wouldn't allow me to check in online and were either useless or deliberately witholding information and didn't tell us we were nearly an hour delayed until we were boarded and had our phones turned off. High winds at Heathrow.

When we did get there, just over 40 mins late, David was waiting for me - with a latte and a slice of carrot cake, and a little Gold Bunny. The man knows how to make me feel welcome. We headed out to the rental car, a Chevrolet Matiz. Feather-light steering and juddering controls, but at least not as noisy at speed as the Ford Ka was. There was a certain amount of being blown around the lane on the motorway though.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were spent at David's parents, sitting at the kitchen table identifying birds, eating, chatting and generally having a wonderfully restorative weekend. Did my washing and hung some on the line for the first time in I don't know how long. The weather was bizarre, with bright spells, high winds, sleet and a bit of snow that stuck for a few hours on Sunday morning. David's mom was wished a Happy Christmas at church. Also had my first game of Scrabble in I don't know how long. David helped set up their new laptop and broadband, and I managed to get another pair of jeans. We left just in time to hit the shops on Sunday and I got the PG Tips pyramid tea bags that had been demanded of me.

We weren't sure what to do on Monday - the weather forecast was poor, but we really wanted to go to Longleat safari park. In the end I finished my packing (bringing back an extra piece of luggage to get some more clothes and shoes) and pushed everything into the Matiz' underdeveloped boot to head out past Andover and Stonehenge to Longleat.

We were in luck - the sky cleared on the way there, we made great time and we got in at 9:30 when we thought we'd have to wait until 10:00. We headed into the safari, taking the chance to get out of the car and walk around the wallabies and goats and grab a tea and a sandwich before getting back in the car. (By the way, if you go there beware of the cafes - one seems to be twice the price of the other.)

And then it was giraffes and emus and zebras and camels, oh my! Followed by many different kinds of deer and even a chance to feed them. Well, let me rephrase that. You could avoid feeding them by a) not buying food and b) driving through swiftly with the windows up. Once you pulled over with the window down, you had a deer in each side of the car faster than you could get the food ready. Just as pushy as the sacred deer in Japan! And they drool. Seriously.

We got several photos of the supposedly elusive Bongos, who were happy to be photographed while grazing. Others walking into the spotlight were the camels and some very impressive African cattle. Then it was in to the monkeys, with ample warnings to kiss your car trim goodbye and even an opportunity to U-turn out of it. They weren't interested in the rental car - too rounded - but loved 4x4s, anything with a roof rack or spare tyre and we saw five of them on an old (flat-roofed and flat-bonneted) Jaguar. The babies swung off anything that stuck out when they weren't chasing each other around the trees.

We concluded that the endless stream of cars was the enrichment activity and new toys for the monkeys, and that Nature will have your windscreen wipers.

Carrying on with our CD narrated by one of the presenters of Animal Park, which was a nice touch, we hit the big time - the big cats. Queues of traffic built up as people stopped to stare at and photograph tigers having their mid-morning snack and sleeping on the roof of the hides, and lionesses pacing about their wooded lawns. There are two lion prides, and the second had youngish cubs who were running around and jumping on their elders. Finally we went through Wolf Wood, where most of the residents were lying around doing their own brand of regal. One was tearing apart lunch, but despite signs all over of "CAUTION Wolf pups in road" we didn't see any.

Once out of the safari, we drove around to the grounds and headed for Pets Corner, home of the smaller and fluffier things. The parrot show was on, so we took advantage of the lull to check out the degus and rabbits, ground squirrels and Siberian chipmunks (think little albino squirrels). Ducking through the insect and reptile house got me the chance to hold a Chilean rose tarantula, which was absolutely lovely. The keeper was also very tempting when she said they could be acquired for £15, live in a quite small box lined with earth and only need 2 live crickets a week...

(Later research seems to indicate they don't like handling, which is both confusing and real shame if it is true - I don't want to stress anything. Best quote: "A happy spider is an unseen spider".)

The stars of the area were the otters, proud parents Rosie and Romeo and their two young kits. Six others had already been born and sent to other zoos, and Rosie was due to give birth again in April! She did have a distinct waddle. Very romantically, Romeo was giving her some of his food, just in case her "I'm cute! Feed me!" face failed to work.

We went for some food next, an excellent cottage pie for me and mushroom quiche for David. Expensive, but not bad. Next up was the safari boat, out into the lake with the gregarious Californian sea lions. They had already been fed - 65kg of fish - but were always given treats for chasing the boat. We saw the hippos from a distance (the only way to see the perpetually grumpy animals according to the guide) and also the elderly gorilla Nico, sitting on the porch of his house watching the rain. The guide gave a very moving talk about the status of the gorilla which had us reaching in our pockets for the collection boxes on the pier next to the meercats.

After that we judged we had just enough time to get to the batcave! After a few displays of insects (including my personal squee item, some real live and very large Deaths Head cockroaches) we got into the bat room. They were being fed and seemed to fall elegantly from the ceiling to lie wings out, flat on their stomachs to chew on fruit. They even adopted that position for the water bowl. The fruit kebabs suspended from ropes were a real favourite - one bat was on each, holding on to the top with its feet and munching away while mantling it with its wings. As the keeper said, relax, they're not going to hit you. They're good at this.

Final stop was the butterfly garden, and what a finale. Massive butterflies with wings like owls' faces lined the roof, with ones the colour of mother of pearl or cobalt flapping through the garden. Others were an amazing velvet black and startling red. David got some fantastic photos, even if we couldn't get the glasswing to stay still long enough.

Then we hit the road, just in case we didn't make good time back - all too possible with a combination of ropy weather and Bank Holiday traffic. We did it pretty well, from Longleat to the drop-off at Heathrow Terminal 1 in 3 hours. Back on the plane.

I was oddly tired by the time I got back, and the efficient German S and U-bahns got me home as soon as I figured out what ones I wanted to be on and managed to buy a ticket. Following some loud Americans who were going my way helped. It seemed to be shift change, with loads of police and men in hi-vis jackets in the station. I glared at the stairs, but as there's no option I climbed up. At least my suitcase was comparatively light this time.

Today was all right - up early to go to the bank again as I still don't have my card (I got my pin and some info for online banking, so I know they have the address right) but this time managed to not be understood and had to hand my notes over to the cashier. Money still isn't in my account so I withdrew from my UK account to cover me for another two weeks or so. Worked away on the instructions of A, got a confusing comment from B, A checks with B and realises there has been a misunderstanding, I have to throw away my morning's work. It ended with translators finding all the day's issues between 5:00 and 5:30, which is when I wanted to leave. I did manage to get away soon after.

Right into the snow that had been falling for an hour or so - huge fat wet flakes that were just about sticking on the dual carriageway dividers. It cleared a little, we hit the supermarket (I had given up on my daydream of blowing a stack of Euros in the Asian food shop) and I took the U-bahn back just in case it started up again. Must wear the hiking boots tomorrow, as it's forecast to be -3 tonight and tomorrow night with snow.

It was wonderful to be back in the UK - but I also have a trip to Koln/Cologne to look forward to this weekend! My first trip on the InterCity Express, just over an hour. Shall bring the camera...

Ready, steady...

Didn't forget anything! And actually got some work to do that didn't involve playing a game...

Will head out early tomorrow so I can get out early and get to the airport, even more important now that BA are denying me online checkin despite sending me an email inviting me to do so.

We still appear to have no washing machine, or if we do we have no key to the basement to access it. So I will be doing the student thing and taking my washing home with me.

And I may have been paid - someone who started at the same time as me has been - but as I don't have my bank card yet I don't know. May call into the bank tomorrow and see if they can tell me. Another deutsche challenge...

Will be away from tomorrow night until Monday night - have a great long weekend to everyone who has it!

Check your head

After forgetting my wallet yesterday, today I forgot my pass. I decided to go home and get it - it was 9:45, I didn't have to in until 10, and it's only 2 stops on the U-bahn.

I ended up running in at 10:20 - it's not as quick as I thought.

Makes me worry about tomorrow...

New to me

Not a great night's sleep last night - I spent the last ten minutes before leaving going back in and out of the room picking up various things I'd forgotten and still managed to leave my wallet in the flat. I know who my friends are.

We ate at the little Chinese counter/restaurant in the supermarket, where I had a huge plate of noodles with chicken, beansprouts and other vegetables for 4 Euro. There's almost no point in doing your own food with that and the equally reasonable salad bar.

Doing some reading for the last module on the MA - strange to think that the taught part will be over in 6 months. The first set of background reading has been giving me pause - not so much for thought, although there is that too, but for vocabulary.

I've had to look up etiolated (becoming pale and weak), late Ptolemaic effort (no idea), hypostatize (make into a distinct substance; conceive of or treat as an existing being), allomorphism (different forms of the same thing?), apostate (someone who renounces a religion or faith), miscegenation (mixing or blending, esp. of races) and Barmecide feast (no idea). Combined with the trip to the Botanic Gardens, where I can't actually name anything, it's rather humbling.

I also came across the delightful quote by socialist Viktor Adler "Absolutismus gemildert durch Schlamperei" (Absolutism tempered by slovenliness). I'm sure there are many more wonderful quotes out there. I haven't been reading much of any quality for some time. The author of the piece I'm reading also describes The Man Without Qualities as "the great comic novel of our time". His own book isn't that old, revised edition of 1991, but has that lovely old-world slightly cranky yet achingly funny and painfully true professor tone to it.

Blooming marvellous

Slept in until nearly 11am on Sunday. I never do that...

The photos are here!

Sunday I went to the botanical gardens! It's an easy walk from the flat, up a side road off the main road leading to the office, and follow it all the way to a side entrance. I had actually gone halfway there yesterday when finding the local post office. I was on my own, as everyone else was recovering from watching the rugby, recovering from or participating in St. Patricks Weekend, ill or studying. It was drizzling, not enough to stop me, but enough to keep taking the lens cap on and off as I didn't want to get raindrops on the lens.

There was a queue to get in, which I thought was odd on a rainy and cool Sunday, but it turned out to be the last day of a huge gardening fair. That also meant the entrance fee was twice normal (10 Euro instead of 5) but I headed in anyway, armed with my English pamphlet. There were little tents selling everything from seeds and plants to garden ornaments and mini-chainsaws, and stalls with sausages and pretzels. I had a ham and cheese crepe - not very German, but I love them.

I digress for a moment - there really does seem to be sausage worship here. I was exchanging some comedy emails with friends in Reading about it, but it does seem to exist. When I was out at the post office yesterday there weren't too many people about, but there was a crowd of about 20 in front of a sausage van. And when we walked out to the Italian restaurant near G's on Friday night there was a little festival going on in the plaza just before it, with people standing around high tables and eating sausages - the liveliest we've seen Frankfurt so far.

I wandered around the outside areas first, the lawns were full of daffodils, crocuses and other tiny blue or white flowers. Mom would have loved it. There were several cherry trees in bloom, small lakes with white and black swans and ducks, and also tracks for a mini train, which wasn't running (I doubt the geese would have been asleep with their heads under their wings beside if it so). Taking the photo of the goose was funny - the eye opened while I was doing it, but nothing else moved.

There was a small section with seasonal plants, and loads of Easter decorations - they are everywhere. Then a small sub-antarctic glasshouse and finally the biggies - the tropical houses. I failed to make the connection between my glasses instantly steaming up and the camera lens doing the same - hope it's okay. Actually, I'm going to go and take it out of its bag now and let it breathe, which is what I should have done when I got home... Anyway, loads of weird and wonderful plant life and some amazing flowers. Plus the true objects of worship - the cocoa tree and coffee bean tree. There was even a cinnamon tree!

Finally there was the Palmengarten itself, half of which was given over to displaying more garden items such as furniture, and half of which was full of palms, etc. albeit with garden ornaments for sale dotted around. The weather made it very reminiscent of the Botanics in Dublin. It was a great way to spend a few hours, and I'll probably go back in the summer when the outdoors will be nicer.

Speaking of the weather, it's forecast to go sub-zero on Tuesday and Wednesday... BBC forecasts snow although the Frankfurt City website doesn't. Fun. Hope it doesn't affect my flight back on Thursday.

In other news, I'm definitely off to Cologne the weekend after Easter, I've booked my train tickets online - it will take just under an hour and a quarter each way on a direct train. Was also thinking of heading to Dublin as there is a bank holiday here close to Mom's birthday in May.

I spent the afternoon/evening trying to do some German study, and got through the first four units in the BBC Active German course before wandering off to have a look at the BBC Languages website. And there I found some distinctly 'interesting' phrases in the Cool German section. Think of your licence fee and despair - this is definitely Not Safe For Work. I particularly like the claim that the phrase "lick my arse" comes from Goethe.

An accidental wonder

Was talking to Z about food on the way home - I threw the contents of my fridge and cupboard into a frying pan and ended up with red (purple) onion, red peppers, yellow sweetcorn, green peas, brown mushrooms and white bamboo shoots. Looks quite impressive. Pity I haven't got any soy sauce.

The corn, which was on the left of the top shelf of the fridge, was partially frozen - but the peas, on the right of the top shelf, were not. Must watch that.

I miss my attempts at Japanese meals - a bowl of rice, a bowl of soup, some stir-fried veg and whatever else I was having (usually whatever Sainsbury's had on special, like prawns). I think I will end up hitting that asian shop when I get paid...

More wanderings

Had a nice sleep in this morning - I did wake up before 8am, but turned over and got up around 9:30. Felt much better for it. I finally unrolled the yoga mat I bought last weekend and did just the warmup exercises from my pilates book (I am that out of practise) - but had to stop 2/3 of the way through as I was getting nauseous from the 'new plastic' smell from the mat. I opened the windows and headed out to find the post office and do some shopping as everything will be closed tomorrow.

Found the post office, which was inside a cute stationery shop called "McPaper". I managed to start the conversation in German, but finished it in English as the lady at the till had much better English than my non-existent German. Le sigh. I found yet another Rewe supermarket - they seem to be evenly distributed about every three streets. Also found a health food/chemist where I got some muesli and green tea. They don't seem to do tetra-pak fresh soups here, so I got some tinned ones.

Wrote a few postcards and got a text from Z who was in the town centre, so I walked in and met him. The Japanese restaurant was shut so we ended up looking for a cafe and stumbled upon an asian food shop - udon and soba and miso and even rice cookers! I am so tempted to buy one. They do the best rice, and it's only 45 Euro for a cheap one... also fell in love with a large bowl, and they have very sweet bowls and plates with cherry blossoms on a pale blue background. Must remember I'm not here forever.

We had coffee and cheesecake at a cafe just off Zeil, which was a bit expensive but not too bad. It turned out to be a cafe of a bakery chain, but good nonetheless. I had a plain baked cheesecake with slivered almonds and bits of fruit on top, and Z had one with mandarin segments, which I see a lot. We decided we both had food to use up at home, and swung by the English Shop on the way back (overpriced Maltesers, etc.) but it was closed in true German style. Z went food shopping and I headed home.

I have to say the driving and most certainly the cycling in Frankfurt is insane. If you are enraged by unannounced lane-switching or cutting up, please avoid this place at all costs. The cyclists ignore not only lights but oncoming traffic, and do the hip Oxford thing of cycling at night with dark clothing and no lights. And then there's the bike couriers (one of whom stopped me for directions the other day). Nuff said.

So, enjoying the walking, and having the safety net of the U-Bahn when it's raining or I need to be somewhere quickly. It is reminding me how out of shape I am though, as just walking to work now gives me an incredible pain in my shins. I think I've forgotten how to walk properly... might invest in some heavy-duty shoes when I'm back at Easter. I have walking shoes, but I think they're for people who can already walk...

So, a nice relaxed Saturday, the kind that feels like Sunday. Might head out to the zoo or botanic gardens tomorrow and take the camera.

Some links

Meandering around the BBC News site and found this article on Chinese manhua and the state. Very interesting.

Also been meaning to link this for my own reference - a discussion of umami, a kind of taste which is unfortunately usually described or translated as 'tasty'. I started looking around for more, and found shibui, another hard to translate one, that had come up at work. There were several more linked from that page, if that kind of thing interests you.

Nearly Friday...

Almost not

Almost didn't get my washing back yesterday - G locked herself out, and although she was let back in by the landlady, she was going out again for an event leaving me with not enough time to get there by the time I'd finished up at work. Luckily Z was kind enough to bring my washing back with his, so I don't need to do any emergency shopping...

I may be in Cologne at the end of the month, just waiting to hear back from some friends.

Not sure I'm sleeping well, and I'm incredibly stiff. Probably the bed, but possibly the fact they have quite good free coffee at work... and quite strong too.

Anyway, worked a bit late last night so looking forward to getting out a bit early on Friday, assuming that happens! We got the big storm blowing itself out yesterday so hopefully we'll get some brighter weather for the weekend.

Hmm. Boat trip? Zoo? Botanical gardens? So much to see!

Yum

Well, today was another full day. Was at the bank at 9am again as I needed my IBAN number. Asked for it in German and there was enough of a pause that I thought someone was going to have to intervene, and then the cashier smiled and said "Ah, ee-bahn!" Just pronounced differently. I also paid some cash in, as they hadn't asked me for any when I opened the account, there are monthly charges on it and I'm not sure when they will arrive relative to my first invoice being paid.

After a full morning, I had to run back to the flat at lunchtime, as I'd forgotten my e-ticket from my flight to attach to said invoice...

After work, myself and Z went to G's flat to use her washing machine, as ours won't be installed (in the basement of the building) until next week. We put it on and headed out to purchase a DS for her (and the cutest DS-holder bag... hideously expensive but very sweet). I treated myself to a game as well.

Then we went to an Italian restaurant on the way back, and it was one of those wonderful moments when you realise you've just found a new regular place. The staff were lovely, the food was fantastic and it was all very relaxed. And cheap - main course, (soft) drink, desserts all round and two coffees came to 38 Euro.

When we got back to G's, we found that the washing machine hadn't started... so it's probably finishing about now and I need to go back there tomorrow to pick it all up. In the meantime, I'm hoarding my 50-cent pieces as I'll need them when our machines are in in the basement - which we haven't managed to find yet.

The only frustration was I wasn't able to top up my phone at the supermarket. But that may be not completely the fault of my lack of German... having never owned a pay as you go before, I'm not sure how you top them up at a till anyway. You can't scan the phone like you do your milk and bread rolls. I feel I'm missing something...

Photos!

My photos of Frankfurt from the weekend are here!

Keeping it in the family

I am now a Deutsche Bank customer! Undeterred by G's experience of being turned away because she didn't have an appointment, I turned up as they opened, armed only with some phrases hastily translated on the internet, and despite not having an appointment I was seen shortly by a very nice lady whose English was naturally vastly superior to my German. Fifteen minutes later I was armed with my account details.

I'm getting really annoyed about my lack of German. Must a) study and b) get a more comprehensive language course. I feel like one of those people who annoyed me in Japan, who rely on being a dippy foreigner to get by (and I'm not the only person in the office who feels that way).

Tomorrow, I need to go back - first to get my IBAN number which I need for my invoice, and also to actually put some money in the account as there is a monthly charge and they didn't ask me to put any money in to open it. I also need to top up my phone as a rash of texting over the weekend trying to get everyone to the museums has used up the initial 5 Euro.

Had a lovely Japanese meal today - went with G to a place beside some massive roadworks near Eschenheimer Tor, or the Disney Tower as I like to call it. (See it here.) She had katsu-don and I had tempura-don with mushroom miso soup. Yum yum yum. And we didn't have to worry about our German, as we could order in Japanese. Bliss.

Then it was back to the Irish pub and far more silliness - they really are a great bunch of people. My face hurts from laughing.

Hello Frankfurt

Went out again today, this time with the camera and memory stick! Walked into town, and it's really not far at all. Went through the main shopping street, past some of the historic churches, through a huge plaza with lovely buildings, then over the river to where the museums are clustered.

The anime/manga exhibition at the Museum of Applied Arts was a disappointment - there were some old manga, from as early as the late 19th century, but there seemed to be no attempt to draw any continuity between them and the woodblock prints that were also on show. Fairly random cases full of Hello Kitty products, anime models, Nintendo DS games (playable) and a corner full of original and translated manga made it feel like it was thrown together to cater to a fad. The bit I was most looking forward to, what I thought was comment by current fine artists on manga (and particularly the way it's interpreted as being descended from woodblock prints) turned out to be nothing of the sort - there was one room off to the side with pictures "reinterpreting" or vandalising famous prints and cartoony figures that were meant to be some kind of subversive "threatening cute". I really didn't think much of it. The installation (large white tent with random things including faces of anime characters painted on the inside) and video projection (Japanese actor pretending to be a drunk Bin Laden hiding out in Japan) were even more disappointing.

Z accidentally went to the Film Museum, which also had a partner exhibit - after the Museum of Applied Arts G and I decided we didn't want to see any more. The Film exhibit didn't sound too bad though, I might go another time. But overall not very exciting.

We wandered around and ended up in a kebab shop again, they seem to be the staple places open late - and crucially open on Sundays when absolutely everything is closed.

Did get some photos of the area around the flat and the middle of town, although I'm sure there's more to see. Will get them up soon.

Doh

Went out to get a German phone with Gemma and Zak - very painless and cheap process, 15 Euro for a Nokia 1600 with 5 Euro credit.

I brought the camera! But not, unfortunately, the memory stick. So, only about 2 photos of Frankfurt. Shall try again tomorrow...

About to head out to Gemma's again for an evening of TV and silliness. There is a very high silliness quotient here. The discussions at the pub (before I got so tired I went home around 9) were positively hysterical. Smarties with milk as breakfast cereal. The pub serves snakebites, which certainly helps the lowering of inhibitions...

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to bed I go

Need to be up early tomorrow to get down to the town hall and register my presence. Everyone needs to do it, even the locals. I just hope I've got the right information, because if I don't I'm missing paperwork.

And is it just me, or is there no semi-skimmed milk in Germany?

Hopefully will be out for a social with the team tomorrow night, then some shopping and sightseeing on Saturday and museums on Sunday.

But definitely need sleep - I think I haven't been sleeping that well, if my desperate struggle to stay awake after lunch is anything to go by.

More walking around Frankfurt

Frankfurt seems to have a complete overabundance of chemists and hairdressers and a huge number of dry cleaners. Maybe that says something about the area between here and work.

Although I'd say the gay sauna I passed isn't found with such frequency.

Can't be bothered to cook tonight, so having Wasa (Ryvita) with organic Emmenthal and ham.

Frankfurt also seems to have several anime-related exhibitions on, which I will look into this weekend... as well as hopefully going and getting a yoga mat.

Necessary

Honestly, it was the only mug in the supermarket! I need one for work!




Actually started working on something today, which is far better than doing nothing (aka training). I'm editing rather than translating, which is just as fun but in a different way. I enjoy it, which some people don't. Headed out as a team for salad bar and sandwiches in the supermarket at lunchtime. While it's a certain amount of fun to start at 10am, leaving at 6pm is none whatsoever. At the risk of having no-one to walk in with, I'm going to switch to starting at 9am next week.

One thing I do need to do this week is the Anmeldung, or registration of residence. Obligatory even for German citizens and must be done within a week of being in the country if you're not in a hotel. So Zack and I will be at the town hall bright and early (7:30am!) on Friday to try to get that done and back to work before 10am. We still need leases or contracts for the flats to prove we live here though. Haven't figured out if I'm going to get a German bank account or phone yet, let alone how.

But even though all seems to be going swimmingly, I still felt a bit off today, especially going home. But it's the good old stranger in a strange land feeling, which I haven't really had since the early days in Japan (although it did resurface in a fainter form from time to time). Some things are international...

Windows

Another thing I noticed while wandering around on Sunday night is that almost no-one seems to have or use curtains, and there are some very nice rooms out there. Lots of interesting paint colours and cool lamps and art and chandeliers. I love looking in windows, I admit.

In other news, I seem to have an old-school whistling kettle. Does anyone know how to use it without killing themselves?

Wrong Way and other stories

I headed out of the quiet one-way street and headed for the town centre. Frankfurt was remarkably quiet, but I had heard that it pretty much closed down on Sunday evenings. There were the odd couple going to or from some very nice-looking restaurants - evidently the thing to do as they were uniformly packed. I kept on, enjoying the cool evening and pleasant walking - and causing some inconvenience to drivers as I still can't bring myself to trust that anything is going to stop just because I'm on a zebra crossing. (A Porsche stopped for me this morning! A Porsche!!)

It did seem strange that the neighbourhood didn't seem to be getting any busier. Until I arrived at a major cross street and realised I was nearly at the office. I had been walking the wrong way the whole time. I grabbed some warm food and and something for breakfast the next day at a petrol station shop (the only thing I had seen open) and decided that I may as well continue and find the office. I went past a huge number of purveyors of funerary monuments, opposite the walls of what must have been a massive cemetary. Spotted eight rabbits cavorting in a green area outside an office block. Found the office, and navigated my way back to the flat along the route I'd planned out on google maps - down a pair of one-way streets divided by trees, along the side of a park and coming back onto my road just a few doors away from the flat. Took about 25 minutes.

After using brute force to get my trailing socket with converter plug in, I chatted with David for a bit before turning in.

Luckily I was too wired to sleep very much, as although I had set the time on the clock I'd forgotten to actually turn the alarm function on. Walked in - decided to leave the camera at home as it would just make me late - and arrived at the large supermarket beside the office a few minutes after nine, and had a nougat croissant (tasted and looked like chocolate to me) and coffee. The coffee almost didn't happen - the cashier couldn't understand my attempts at German, but the other customers could and happily repeated them, to which I could only offer an embarrassed danke schon.

Headed in and found my recruiter and ended up waiting around chatting to a Spanish tester as we waited to be paired up with our bosses - I finally hooked up with Nick, who is in charge of the into-UK-English team and the other two new starters Zakim and Geraint. We read boring documentation, attempted to find somewhere to sit and tried to log in for most of the day, as is the wont of first days.

We headed out for lunch with Nick and Patrick and Gemma, two more into-UK translators, and got some Chinese food at a cafe in the supermarket. I was heartened when, while I was trying to figure out if the chef had just called my number (44), a policeman at the counter reassured me she had said 65. Can't be bad when the police interpret for you.

Zack and I turned out to be in the same building, so we went shopping for the essentials (washing up liquid and sponges, milk, fresh pasta/noodles) after leaving and hauled it all home on the U-bahn in the company of one of the Japanese producers. First kind-of proper meal cooked in my mini-kitchen!

All in all, a good day - totally unproductive as first days are, but I have an idea of what I will be working on tomorrow (it's ironic is all I will say for now) and have met a lot of fun and friendly people. May try to fly back to the UK for Easter as the office is closed here.

Gifted

We all have unique gifts. Mine is going the wrong way. More on that later.

Credit card stopped for reasons that are still unclear, flight delayed by 2 hours (although it got in pretty much on time) and taxi driver had no idea where my street was (luckily I have a map) and got lost in a warren of one-way streets before I told him to let me out at right-angles to the street I wanted. That's three.

After finding out how to sort out the credit card and calling Mom to wish her a happy Mothers Day, we headed out very early to get across the road before the marathon kicked in, and were in time to see the first wheelchair racer. Then got a bus from the Oxford Road, walked around until we figured there was nowhere we could go because the marathon route cut us off from the town centre, and ended up having coffee at the station before I got the coach. Despite my pleas, himself refused to hide in the luggage section under the bus.

I had already checked in online, so just dropped my bag and proceeded to find that all of the cash machines were out of order. Went through security and found a working cash machine in the duty free area, and picked up some boxes of choccies (always handy) and a Nintendo magazine, plus a hot chocolate. Then the gate was announced and I headed down. There was no boarding by seat row number, just get on as soon as they said boarding was open. And it was only once we were all on board that they told us about the 2 hour delay due to high winds in Frankfurt. Off we taxied to a remote corner of Heathrow to wait to take off.

The captain and crew were very pleasant, and in the end despite taking off about an hour late we weren't that late arriving. Baggage reclaim was fast, and I called the landlady to say I had arrived. She estimated 30 minutes or so to the flat by taxi, so I decided to do that rather than take the train. The taxi driver didn't know where my street was - I pointed it out to him on the map - didn't put his seat belt on for the first five minutes - despite his dashboard beeping at him - and really scared me when he put his glasses on another five minutes after that.

After getting into town, going right the way along the one-way street we were going to and not being able to find his way back, I got him to let me off as we were crossing it. The landlady's husband was to meet me there, but hadn't shown after 10 minutes so I called her again. Judging by how quickly the light went on in the hall, I think he was instant messaging with her from my room.

Dragged the case up to the third story on some very narrow windy stairs made of slippery stone. Ow. The flat is small but nicely decorated and has everything a short-term stay needs. Pictures are here. I handed over a fee for the internet connection and decided to head out for some food - more on that later, as I really need to leave now for my first day at work!

Pretend and be

There's a book I got ages ago about becoming a translator, that basically concludes that you get to be a translator by pretending to be one. Not the best bootstrapping strategy.

And that's in a nutshell what I've been feeling until now... but I have had a stroke of luck that is making it feel a little more real! Someone on the translation mailing list posted a long-term in-house contract that I asked for more details on, and despite it being for a company I'd applied to the year before unsuccessfully, I asked to be considered if that wasn't a problem. I wasn't expecting much.

They contacted me last Thursday to ask if I could do a test translation, which I agreed to do on Friday between 9 and 1. Pretty much everything that could have happened did - the vegetable box arrived, the guy arrived to pick up the old bedframe, and locked himself out 3 times while taking it out. I sent it back on time and waited to hear.

On Monday afternoon, after Ree had left and I'd spent the day cleaning as I had no work on, they emailed me back. When could I start? As I said, I had nothing on - I'd had one piece of work all month so far, mainly my problem as I wasn't looking for new clients - so there was nothing stopping me taking off. Himself would have preferred the following Monday, but after the word "desperate" was mentioned it ended up being next Monday. I fly tomorrow.

Spent Wednesday and Thursday feeling like I was either going to wake up, or someone was going to contact me saying there had been a mistake and they thought they had been talking to someone else. Friday and today - with packing and letting people know I'll be out of the country - it has felt more real. I've even had time to get a bit nervous about it.

The contract is initially for 3 months, with a possibility of 6 months, which they have already suggested to me. Fine, so long as I get to pop back between projects and can be in the UK for the MA seminar and mock exam week in July and the craft fair I've signed up to do with Himself's mother.

Pay is good, furnished apartment is provided, it's great experience and a good name for the CV, plus some guaranteed income for a few months. Too good to turn down, and feeling much to good to be true.

どうしようかな。。。

いくら暖房を付けてもまだ寒いです。寒さに弱い人間ですが、ほどはあるでしょう。けれど、震えるほど寒いです。。。

今週金曜日次の日英翻訳の締め切りですが、前のとちょっと違います。今回は自分の選んだテキストを先生に送り、それはメモ付きの翻訳にふさわしいものかどうかを判断されるということなんです。

実は、この二年間ぐらい漫画以外何も読んでいないので、困ります。。。多分興味のある人物、例えば宮崎駿、のエッセとかを選んでそれにするか、そういう人とのインタービュー。

とりあえず、明日は駄目です。ものすごく久しぶりに高校生時代の友達と会いに行きます。朝家から出て、町の図書館と郵便局へ行ってから電車でロンドンへ行き、大学の図書館で翻訳の材料を探し、昼は友達とのランチです。私の大好きなロンドンでの和食レストラン「てんてんてい」へ行くつもりです。

今日翻訳の仕事はなかったので、手紙を書いたり写真をスキャンしたりしました。色々できたという感じはありませんが、した方がいいことはとりあえずしました。私の手書きの字、本当に恥ずかしいです。。。まだ小学生っぽいなんです。

お久しぶり

Well, I didn't think it had been that long. I got back from Japan, got over jet lag and actually got some paid translation work in between a miserable cold and an obscure Japanese-English translation piece for my MA that unfortunately is the assessed one. Then went to Dublin for Christmas, Engelberg for New Year and got the first part of my patent course work in. Then back to the UK and some more paid work...

I'm finally actually translating! Not making enough to support myself by a long way, but hopefully if I get my speed up and improve it may get there.