Die Beweungsgleichungen

Todays lesson about German - why have several words when one really long one will do? "Die Beweungsgleichhungen" means "the equations of motion." Isn't that interesting...? I knew you would.

I spent the day at the Gymnasium in Berchtesgaten. Let me begin by saying that this place is a palace - think Rogers High School, only cooler. There's something really attractive about the way things are built over here. I got my first taste of this when Andi and I went over the Big Dam Bridge in Little Rock last fall. He saw some new house construction, and asked what I thought was a really odd question: "You build your houses out of wood?" "Yes," I replied, "what else would we build them out of?" "Stone, of course! No wonder your houses get blown up by tornados!" We'll let his gross underestimation of mother nature slide on account of the fact he's never been through a twister.

There is a difference, though - things seem much more permanent here. The walls of my bedroom at Andi's house are nearly a foot thick. Because of this, doors and doorframes are mounted more against the wall than in it. There are disadvantages - you can't just drop in an electrical outlet wherever you want one. Wiring has to be run through pre-drilled "tunnels" in the walls. The windows are really cool, too - they can either open on hinges like a door, or they can pivot about the bottom edge, letting in some fresh air - think one of those fancy tailgates than can open normally, or swing open like a door. Must be those magic hinges. Outside there are big wooden shutters, which make the houses look all... European - now why don't we have those in Tornado Alley?

But I digress. While at the Gymnasium, I met with all the physics teachers, so they could get to know me before I go barging into their classrooms for the next two months. I also have armfulls of physics and math textbooks, which should be invaluable in learning the classroom lingo.

Tomorrow is going to be a "day off" - I'm staying home and learning German all day.

Today, my towel came in handy for: fending off a mosquito hawk

Cheers,
Jeremy