"We'd sing and dance forever and a day"

I was kind of uncertain as I stood in the grocery store line, reading the label on the jar in my hand. "Middle-sharp mustard" was listed as the basis of the sandwich spread, and I wondered by just whose standards it was considered "middle" sharp. It turned out to be good, though, and I added another product to my (mental) German-food-experience list. The next-to-last entry was a type of fish--Schillerlocken--which is (says the dictionary) "curled smoked strips of (spiny) dogfish." That was great as well. I got it from a smokehouse with a big fish counter, like the meat counter in a butcher shop. I'd never seen that many types of fish/fish products in one place. There were a variety of different fish "salads" and three types of fish Sülze, which is meat in gelatin (these versions included vegetables and even hard-boiled eggs, as well). I don't think my food tasting will take me quite that far, but they did admittedly look better than the similar products made from pork.

In addition to the food, I got a little taste of German music over the weekend as well. Greifswald held its semi-annual "Musiknacht," a festival involving 11 bands playing in 11 different restaurants in the city center. I went with Carsta and several of her friends. It was a little awkward entering this group of people I didn't know and who were all 15-20 years older than me, but they were nice enough. We discussed which languages are the most important to learn, and I (somehow) got into a conversation with one of them on immigration and his belief that Muslims should be kept out of Germany. That was super interesting. He wanted to make it very clear to me that he was a nationalist, but not a Nazi. "No Nazi," he repeated in English to make sure I understood. So why did he want to keep the Muslims out? "Because it's Germany," he said, "and Islam is not Germany." Maybe not traditionally, I admitted, but why couldn't it be? Besides, the Muslims aren't going to try to convert him; they just want to live here. He didn't exactly have an answer. I asked about Jews. This was a hard one. He said that Jews were maybe OK because they were kind of Christian. Hm. I decided not to broach the subject of Buddhism or any other religion that was "not Germany," though I'd be curious to know what he thought. Most "nationalism" here seems to be targeted at folks from the Middle East.

So back to the Musik: we only ended up going to three different bars, which was kind of disappointing to me, basically because I wanted to hear the "we're not just a CCR cover band" band that was on the program. Supposedly this event happens again in April, so when I go again I'll break out on my own. The first place we went was the best. It was a trio: one on piano, one singer, and one playing violin/unidentifiable horn/percussion. They played some boogie (that's what they called it, at least), as well as German Schläger from the 1950s-60s, and lots of requests from the audience. The musicians were great. The pianist was amazing--and apparently kind of famous in this area for his improvisational skills. I don't think this particular group is on YouTube, but so you can get an idea of SOME of what they did, I'll attach a couple of links of audience favorites. The audience was a big part of what made the experience enjoyable. The highlight of the day was the song "Those Were the Days," which the singer sang in Russian, then English, then German. And then the pianist tried to do it in French. Anyway, the crowd was SUPER into it. Clapping like crazy with the refrain, singing along, a couple even dancing. With the Russian music I felt like I was in the DDR or something. It was great.

Speaking of DDR things, I found a used book/record store the other day. There were sections for all kinds of genres, including "DDR science fiction," "DDR comic books," "DDR mysteries," and for records, "DDR Schläger." It was really interesting to me that these were separate sections: it seems to imply that the works are somehow innately different from what came before and after because they were written under a divided Germany. Maybe I'll get around to reading some DDR Sci-Fi and report back later.

Oh, for anyone who was worried about my broken bike: it's now all better! Fixed by the Berufs Bildungs Werk (trainees) for the reasonable cost of 5,22 Euros.

I've given lots of lessons this week so far. Today was immigration to/immigrants in America, "She's leaving home" by the Beatles, "One world (not three)" by Sting, and inviting people/giving compliments/asking for something to be repeated. Yesterday included an extension of "dating in America," and tomorrow I'll have the 7th graders make an itinerary for my hypothetical trip to London. The teaching itself is going pretty well. I'm trying to learn names so I can call on people easily and not just take those who raise their hands. They expect that, I think, and often have a decent answer, even if they didn't volunteer to share it. In a class that I visited for the first time yesterday, the students already knew my name, as the previous TA had told them I was coming. That really surprised me. Generally, the students haven't made any references to the girl who came before. Anyway, it was nice to be a celebrity from the get-go, since I was teaching a lesson to them without having "observed" their class first.

After about a month of putting it off for fear of disturbing people, I practiced my violin in my dorm for the first time last week (hopefully no former music teachers are reading this!). The feedback from my hall-mates was positive. I felt like I was being loud despite the mute, but I was informed that it was quiet and very nice, and that I should play more often. And now I have a reason to! Since the semester just started here, the university orchestra's first rehearsal was last Thursday. I went and was welcomed wholeheartedly, so I'll be playing some Tchaikovsky (always good!), above-average Mozart, and Elgar's Enigma Variations this semester. And even going to Bremen (5-6 hours away by train) to perform. I'm happy!

Also in my spare time, I'm learning the art of Scottish Country Dance! I enrolled in a class through the university, but it's open to all members of the community. It's fun, and I figure it's a good way to meet people. The kind of people who do this sort of thing are usually friendly. Downside is that it's not as much of a workout as I'd hoped...the Irish dancing I did over interterm was much better in that respect. I'll have to figure out another way to slim down to the average size of a person in what is still supposedly the "fattest" country in Europe. (Man...unglaublich.)
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Some songs! Even if you don't understand German, you should listen anyway. It's about the style!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YEXemN9tZY&feature=related (Translation: I don't want chocolate; I'd rather have a man)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9PO5NQtPZ4 (First in Russian, then in English)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HrtQGWtSzQ (Translation, from Bavarian to German to English: "Don't you have a man for me?" Then she goes through her list of required characteristics and looks at a bunch of pictures of possible suitors but doesn't find anyone to suit her.)