Here we go again..!

It's Euro Cup 2008 season and it feels like the World Cup all over again. People driving down streets with flags, hanging out passenger windows, screaming their country names in soccer chants, elated by a win (or, in some cases, defending their pride after a loss.)
I mean, it's sort of comparable to the football playoffs in the states-- but no one drives down the streets honking their horns for their favorite football team unless they win the Superbowl or something relatively similar. We live on a main avenue in Berlin (which, unfortunately, also gets used as an ambulance expressway-- I'm still not used to that ear-piercing siren and have to put my hands on my ears if I'm outside on street level. We live on the 3rd floor-- but it's the 2nd floor if you're in Europe, since the ground floor is the "0" floor.)

Germany won their first Euro Cup game against Poland but lost in the second game against Croatia. Michi nearly lost his voice (which usually happens after a Deutschland game.) Soccer tournaments is really the only time where Germans wave their flags and other nationally-colored items of Germany (Germany-colored wigs, mohawks, people face-painted and dressed in all black, red, and yellow, etc) with pride. Otherwise it would just be seen as weird and nationalism in this country is still something of a taboo subject.

We saw the first game against Poland at this venue called Zitadelle Spandau, which is a Renaissance castle/fortress surrounded by water:


They did advertise a massive screen (like the one for the World Cup) but alas, it was just a projector screen-- for 10,000 fans watching. It didn't quite light the metaphorical our fire like the Fan Mile did back in 2006. But, es geht. ("It goes.")

Here's a video I took in the U-bahn on the way home:


And here's one of the Turk-Swiss game aftermath just outside our apartment:



They have venues all over the city that are screening the Euro Cup games for free, and many of them outdoors. This is a bad picture but next to the main train station, or Hauptbahnhof, they have a fake beach and two screens (and also a tent with a larger screen indoors.) Since Germany has no beaches, fake beaches (with real imported sand) on the river have been a raging success.

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Last weekend we went to Michi's hometown and bbq'd in the garden. German gardens are actually a piece of land where each person/family has their own piece of garden but every garden is attached to the next one on the outskirts of town. The size of the land, what you can and can't plant there, size/dimensions of the 'garten' house, what you can/can't have in the garten house (you can't sleep there, for instance) are all included in national/state German law. There is even laws on the height that your grass should be (I kid you not) but luckily they're not too strict with that. *raises eyebrow* Gardens are typically a 5 minute drive from your apartment or house. The word/concept of Kindergarten ("children garden") originates and evolved from these German gardens, where kids would gather and play.

The path down the gardens (gardens on each side of us)


A peak inside someone else's garden.


Inside Michi's family's garden. Tons of veggies and fruits, from strawberries to cherries, spinach, eggplant, onions, scallions, potatoes, zucchini, mint, basil, dill, and more.


The empty water bottles on sticks make vibrations from the wind that scares away lil critters and thus prevents them from snacking on the goods.


Michi and his mom putting German flags on her car. It was a big deal.


Inside the garden house. (It's just one room.)




Me studying the cherry tree.


On the balcony.





Purty.


A medical helicopter landing right in front of Michi's mom's apartment. That was pretty cool (and really loud.) Luckily no one was flown by helicopter to a hospital (so I guess whatever happened wasn't too serious, so that's good.)

We also went to see one of my colleague perform modern Indian dance 2 weekends ago, who danced to a few gorgeous songs that were featured in Bollywood films. He's also performing for the Indian Embassy in September.








What else? I got observed on Monday by one of my bosses (standard company protocol after 2 months of so of employment) so he sat in on one of my classes. (And I figure, this is all good preparation for my upcoming days at Wisconsin, where I'll have plenty of observations to get through!) I thought the 90 minutes went fairly well and wasn't too nervous throughout the lesson but felt ominous vibes from him after the lesson. But I guess it was just my insecurities getting the best of me (yet again.) Yesterday we met for over an hour to discuss my lesson, how I thought it went, how he thought it went and helpful suggestions for the future. And thankfully, I received quite good reviews from my boss as well as my students (they just happened to do routine feedback sheets a week before my observation), which really helps teacher motivation. My bosses really are nice.

Still vegan. 1 month so far, woo! I discovered this awesome cookbook where you can make (very healthy) vegan cheese alternatives. If you're curious, here's some recipes from the book. The other day I made "mostarella" since Michi and I felt like making some pizza and I was quite pleased with the result- it was more of a spreadable cheese and it doesn't have the stretchiness that dairy cheese does but these vegan cheese recipes are more than satisfying my cravings for cheese (and, bonus, I don't have to worry half as much about the amount of unhealthy fat I consume with "uncheese.")