Doch ein Ossi

Ever wonder why Germans use the progressive tenses more frequently than seems natural?* Apparently, it's because they're taught to. Maybe not in the footnoted example, but certainly in some cases where it may be technically correct but sounds strange to a native speaker. This came to my attention when one of the classes did a worksheet about Laurel and Hardy. They were supposed to fill in the blanks in the text with the correct form of a given verb. In general, I agreed with the answer key, but there were a couple of questionable sentences. For example: "Over the years, many critics have been analyzing the skits of Laurel and Hardy to find the secret to their success." And "Since the 1920s, L&H fans have watched the films again and again and have been laughing every time." I would say "have analyzed" in the first case. The second one is just awkward, but I think you could just say simply "laugh" and it'd work. Definitely not "have been laughing." Auf keinen Fall! Technically, however, it may be right. This puts me in even greater doubt of the inherent grammatical prowess I used to think I had. English professors have caught me breaking rules I had no idea existed, and I'm finding that there's still plenty that falls through the grammar error-catching cracks.

Yesterday was Friday, and thus my non-weekend day off. I spent the early afternoon on a bike ride in the area to the northwest of Greifswald. I set out in the direction of Stralsund (36 km, 22 miles away), but didn't have any idea how far I could reasonbly expect to make it. I was planning on taking all day for the trip, but had gotten a call from Carsta (my mentor-teacher) the day before, inviting me to a guitar concert that evening. Just as well (or better), as it turned out, because three hours of bike riding was really enough for me. The land here is clearly no waffle, but is still certainly more hilly than a pancake. In any case, the way to Stralsund is a steady uphill grade, and most of the roads I was riding on approached the waffle category (cobblestone, or otherwise beschädigt). My three hours of riding didn't get me to Stralsund, but GoogleMaps tells me the distance I went was probably even greater, what with the getting lost and intentional detours and all. Whether it was the terrible roads or just general exertion/exhaustion, my bike gave out on me on the way home. Some sort of peddle-tension cable snapped, so now the peddles just spin. Fortunately, this happened within a half-hour walk of my house and not when I was 10 miles away from Greifswald! Next week, I'll see about getting it fixed. Carsta's husband works at a shop that employs handicapped people to do repair work very cheaply. I think you just pay the cost of materials. Sounds kind of like exploitation when I write it that way, but I guess the workers are probably getting something out of the deal. ? We'll hope so.

The guitar concert in the evening was really great. It took place in this fairly small venue where they apparently have all kinds of "cultural" events/performances. The write-up I saw about the concert showed this Spanish-looking, Spanish-named, dark haired, muscular guy sitting on some rocks and playing guitar while looking out over the ocean. Exotic, intense, and poetic. As it turned out, he was from the German state of Sachsen,** was really funny and seemed really friendly, and was actually named "Jörg." He played acoustic guitar, but used an electronic looping machine to play over himself. The style was kinda folky, sometimes Spanishy, moderately jazzy, bordering on rocky, and really hard to describe. And sometimes included didgeridoo! He had a couple awesome pieces that he "made" by looping guitar chords/melodies, didgeridoo, and rainstick, and then playing overtop of it on the guitar. So unique. I think that's part of what really made the concert great for me. Aside from the fact that he was super-talented technique-wise, he was obviously doing something completely his own. His sense of humor/stage presence complemented that and made for a very enjoyable atmosphere. "Stimmung!" he scream-whispered into the atmosphere a couple times. Stimmung, indeed.***

It's time to check my laundry, which I think has finally made it through a wash cycle (after a few hours and me setting the dial forward a couple times). I don't understand what the deal with it is (definitely broken), but it's free and eventually gets things clean, so I certainly can't complain!
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*For example: "At my job, I am cleaning the mirrors, taking out the trash, and often using the present progressive."
**The blog entry title for today relates to this. The concert started about 15 minutes late, which is quite something in this land of punctuality, and Carsta commented to me that this must mean the musician is a "Wessi" (West German). Apparently, East Germans (Ossis) always start on time. When she found out he came from Sachsen, she had to admit that he "was too" from the East.
***Can incidentally mean either "mood"/"atmosphere" or "tuning."
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Sunday afternoon update! Here are a few guitarist-related links for Sarah H. and anyone else who's interested. They're all quite different, so don't give up if you don't like one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvTf7LHtO_U&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDy13Y8_glE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oddiOIbt9io&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_iF3Pwmj_Q&feature=related