First, the Leftovers: (Each of these would have been a detailed blog post if I had the time)
Europe has it easy
It does. It is, I believe, safe to conclude that of all locales on the planet, Europe, with its comfortable temperate zone placing and coniferous vegetation, has the pleasantest summers, most moving golden autumns, festive springs and slightly chilly winters. To top it, there is no dust in Europe. I kid you not- in the seventy five days I spent at Erlangen, not once did I notice that otherwise omnipresent layer of sneeze inducing sludge on any horizontal surface. The humidity is always bearable, and food aplenty- it feels nearly unfair, for several reasons.
German Classes
Yes, I did take German classes.*
Yes, they were immensely fun, and my instructor was the best ever.
No, I don't remember much of it.
(Das ist nicht meine shuld.)
The entire seventy six day stay was punctuated by my attempts at speaking German having gone horribly wrong- and in retrospect- horribly funny. Only a couple of instances may be quoted here while allowing me to retain the remaining vestiges of self-respect; translated into English to obviate further mis-translations:
I. At the door to the professor's office
Me: "Entshuldigung, darf ich einkommen?"
Translates to (apparently) "Excuse me, may I income?"
In the office kitchen:
M: Ah, ist das Indischer imbiss?
Me: Manchmal.
Translates to:
M: Ah, is that Indian food?
Me: Sometimes.
M: Wieder kommst du auf FMP?
Me: Oh, Ich hore musik gern.
Translates to:
M: Will you be coming to Germany again?
Me: Oh, I like music.
Well, you get the drift.
German Engineering, Redux
I never appended to the original post on German Engineering, attributable wholly to awesomeness overload- Every day threw up a dozen examples of engineering design done right, from the delightful colour pencils to the computer mice to the trash cans to the sewage system to the road cleaning bots (yes, bots) to the office window blinds to the cable cars to the sidewalks to the traffic signal switching to the squealing CNG driven insane suspension equipped buses to the mind-blowing space constricted (and optimized) amusement rides to the Inter City Expresses to the automated street lights to the expensive washing machines to the three mode shower heads to the garbage pickup to the do-it-yourself furniture assembly to the assembly line mimicking bakery conveyor belts to the cars to- well this can go on forever- but the window and the sixteen wheeler deserved a special mention and I have posted accordingly.
The Cycling Story
How this eluded description until now is beyond me- Erlangen is a cyclists paradise. There are special paths by the sidewalk for cycles throughout the city, and if you fancy long rides, a cyclist path by most highways for trans-town bike hikes. Come Sunday, and more people can be seen on bikes than you can count with your twenty wiggly digits- Couples out for hikes, young mothers with babies in prams attached to the rear of the cycles, siblings attempting to leave the inline skater crowd biting dust, old men in shorts chatting and sunbathing- with their machines in the lowest gear- they're not in a hurry, the occasional serious cyclist who zips past in full racing gear (product endorsements on racing wear included), the luge-cyclists leaning back in their contraptions- and several vague images that I can no longer recall well enough to articulate.
Counting from the Thumb
Hold up your palm at arms length, and position your fingers such that you're signaling one (1).
Chances are, your forefinger is up, and the lesser privileged digits are folded down into your palm.
Why the forefinger?
Afterthoughts
(1) On the trip.
What did I end up doing, besides making a fool of myself?
The expected roller design, a deeper look at the Navier Stokes Equations, a little Statistical Mechanics, a not-so-startling rediscovery of the Einstein Refrigerator, an analysis of the thermal characteristics of rubber bands, a visit to Munich that the street music justified, hikes to lakes, a few experiments in the kitchen- among other adventures. It was, evidently, fun.
(2) On the blog.
Why did I do it?
So I could remember this stuff an year from now. Besides, it was fun while it lasted.
Who read it?
Two people, apparently. I was one of them.
The Stat_counter shows an average of 1.8 views per week, with a high and low of 2.2 and 0.
What have I not mentioned here?
Several things, most of which I don't want 1.8 people to be reading. :P
(Why not?
Yeah, right. Like I'd spill it.)
Will I be continuing this blog?
Nope. The Personal Narrative ends here. Older, obscurer, instances of crazed typing can be found here. Might have a thing or two to add from time to time there.
That's about it.
Oh, except for the apology-
The day before I was supposed to leave, I went hunting for a set of coffee mugs for the 42nd, bread samples for mom, a wall hanging for home, chocolates for whoever needed them (the list is hurtfully long), and the Deathly Hallows to keep me company in the Airplane. Halfway through the shopping, however, I encountered these chaps doing their thing:
Their 'thing' being a rendition of the most heavenly violin score that had ever befallen my ears. After dropping several low-denomination coins into their box and straining to identify the music as Mozart, I came to the conclusion (after about fifty minutes of bliss) that it was Bach. Irrelevant, of course- the point being that by the time they were done playing, shops everywhere had closed, and most items on the shopping list remained un-bought.So, well, if you're one of the people on the list who were left empty-handed- I'm sorry.
(Bach should be held responsible.)
*(So, Karthik, if you're reading this in 2008, shame on you for forgetting every word of Deutsch you had painstakingly accumulated over three months of eavesdropping, google translating, and several two hour Deutsch lesson sessions.)
