Yikes! Sorry for not posting in so long.
Today I would like to address the question I am asked most frequently. Well, maybe not most frequently, that would probably be "Are you homesick?", but it is the question that I prefer most to avoid.
In German the question is: "Was machst du hier in Dresden?"
In English it is: "What do you do here in Dresden?"
I don't have a job. I submitted a resumé to a language teaching bureau seeking native English speakers to teach business and advanced English, but never heard back. And I don't go to school. I would love to take one of the immersion German courses at the Goethe Institute here, but they're pretty pricey, and we're pretty poor. So, that answers the first two questions that automatically follow the initial question if I ask for clarification. Work? No. School? No. I also don't have any children, so the plot thickens. How does a person pass nine to 10 hours every weekday all alone in a foreign country with no pressing responsibilities?
Here is how I do it (ideally): Get up, eat breakfast, exercise, bathe and get ready. Do general housework stuff for a while. Study German for two hours. Eat lunch. Run errands (mostly grocery shopping). Then spend the rest of the afternoon working on my novel, which will make us millions so that I can take that German course and Jake can buy computer parts. My goal is 1,000 words a day, and I currently have almost 70 pages.
However, some days are better than others. Here's what happened today: Get up, eat breakfast, exercise, bathe and get ready. Throw in laundry. Study German for one hour. Fall asleep on the couch. Wake up one hour later, deliriously. Make a sandwich and eat it whilst watching "America's Next Top Model" on YouTube. Knit and watch more "America's Next Top Model" on YouTube. Get disgusted with myself. Take out garbage. Take bus to the bank to withdraw week's grocery moolah. Go to the grocery store. Buy milk. Come home. Listen to geeky sci-fi podcast "Escape Pod" (short story about one man's romance with a robot) while I sweep the house and do the dishes. Write in blog. Hate myself for not writing in my novel. End.
Do you think that's what I should tell people?
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It's been a while since I've had a laugh reading someone's post. But you made me laugh today. Thanks Jaz. :)
ReplyDeletePS - I'm not at all surprised you watched America's Next Top Model. I still haven't forgotten our conversations about previous seasons.
And PPS - I want to be on your list of people who you send your novel to for editing... I WOULD love to read it (it is sci-fi inspired??)
Hooray for your novel! Is it about a girl and a robot?
ReplyDeleteI think you should tell people that you are a rich American heiress, so of course you don't work.
Hmm...this sounds too familiar to me. When MY husband moved ME across the country (no, not out of the country) so HE could go to graduate school I found myself home alone ALL DAY LONG.
ReplyDeleteI think during those 9 months I hand-made 3 quilts, crocheted 3 blankets, finished 2 scrapbooks, and learned how to make pork chops.
I feel for you. Just tell people your an emerging American author and that you went to Germany for inspiration!
I love it! Reading about your "reality" totally made me feel better about my crazy life...I'm not alone in the "don't get anything productive done"...PS I secretly watch America's Next Top Model too
ReplyDeleteMan, I can't tell you guys how glad I am that I'm not the only one with tragically unproductive days. For you Dani and Jan, the book is sci-fi-ish. No spaceships and aliens. It's in the near future about a woman and her brother who discover that they are bulletproof, and powerful people want to figure out why so they can bottle it. I know that sounds pretty lame. But I swear it's better than the synopsis makes it sound. At least I hope it is. If not, I'm wasting A LOT of time.
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