So my dear Ami im Schwabenland has nominated me for the Sisterhood of the World Blogger Award.  These are always fun because you get some insight into the mind of fellow bloggers that they would normally not say in their blogs (not because they are super secret – they are just not topics that normally come up in their posts).

So since, my questions were directed to both me and Abner – here we go:

1. What is a blog post you wrote within the last year or two that you really like?

La Mari: I really like writing about my friends’ weddings.  I have been to three since having moved to Germany and it has been an eye opening experience in seeing how different cultures celebrate the union of two people.

Abner: What’s a blog post?

2. What photo from your travels really makes you smile? Please share it!

La Mari: At the moment, it’s the photo of Abner at Hohentwiel.  Really, any photo with him makes me smile because he is such a goofball.

Abner: The ones where Mami gives me treats

La Mari: That means all the photos.

3. What is a career or profession you imagined having when you were a child?

La Mari: I saw myself working in Pharma and discovering the cure for Muscular Dystrophy (I went to a genetics conference when I was 14 and our lecturer gave us quite the inspiration speech). Now I am still in Pharma but in Quality Control – so I just make sure our drugs don’t kill you.

Abner: I like to sleep

La Mari: Don’t we all, Abner.  Don’t we all.

4. What type of blog post do you find the most difficult to write?

La Mari: Usually the ones with questions like these.  I find living in Germany to be such an inspiration that I can find so many interesting topics to write about.

Abner: No, really, what’s a blog post?

5. Which book could you read over and over and never tire of?

La Mari: It’s a toss-up between Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier and the His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman.

Abner: Mami’s books make good blankets.

6. Do you have periods of writer’s block where you feel completely uninspired? What do you do?

La Mari: I will either read or go in search of other blog posts (whether travel or expat) in order to get ideas of what topics I can write about.

Abner: You mean block like block of cheese? I like cheese.  And bacon, I like bacon.  When do I get to eat, Mami?

La Mari: You just ate.

Abner: But I am hungry again

La Mari: You’re a pug; you’re always hungry

Abner: And?

La Mari: *sigh* Damnit, now I’m hungry.

7. Is there a German* TV show you enjoy watching?*(I mean a show produced in the country in which you live/d, not a show from “back home”.)

La Mari: That’s a tough one since most shows on TV are either American dubbed in German or crime shows (I am quite tired of them, frankly).  But I do enjoy a good episode of Gallileo (which is an informational show that ranges from what’s new in the latest robots being built to where is the best place in Vienna to have the most authentic Wiener Schtnitzel.)  Also, I do enjoy Circus Halli Galli

Abner: I’ll tell you what I don’t like: shows with other dogs and horses.  They make me so angry cause I think they are attacking my family.  I try to chase them from the TV but then I get yelled at! I am only trying to look out for the family!

8. Where are you on your journey of learning the language of the country in which you live?

La Mari: I can speak rather well (since I have to for my job but at times I still stumble rather epically when trying to convey more complicated ideas) but my reading and writing could use some work.  I am back in another German course and my instructor and I are working on those. The most challenging part is switching between dialects.  At work a lot of the people speak Swäbisch but when I am in my fiancé’s hometown – they speak Hohenlohisch.  Let me tell you, they are NOT the same

Abner: It’s all gibberish to me

9. Which dialect (of any language) do you really enjoy listening to?

La Mari: Granted, it’s more of an accent versus dialect (but can still be considered a dialect) is Scottish.  I can listen to them ALL. FRICKIN. DAY. Scotland is one of my favorite countries not just because of the magical land – but their magical way of speaking *sigh*

Abner: Yup. Still gibberish.

10. Make up a question you’d like to answer, and answer it! 🙂

Abner: What are we doing tonight, Mami?

La Mari: Same thing we do every night, Abner: Try to take over the world!

So as you can see, Abner has quite the personality when it comes to these questionnaires.  If you are interested in knowing how he sounds in real life – think of him as a tiny, less cute, version of Ed Asner from Up.

And now I need to nominate other fellow bloggers…..

1. Lipgloss and Backpack
2. Heather goes to Deutschland
3. Kaffee und Kuchen
4. Adventurous Kate
5. Emma’s Travel Tales

I know some of you guys are bigger than me in the blogging world but they are those whose travel tales I find interesting (and who weren’t already given questions by Ami)

So now for my questions:

1. What is your favorite place of the current country you live in?
2. Are there any social norms or practices you’ve encountered on your travels that you wish were normal in your native culture?
3. What is one food you could now never eat in your home country again because you’ve tasted the original version in its country of origin and you’ve been forever spoiled?
4. If you had to give up your passport and get another country’s passport, what would you pick?
5. Where is ‘home’? Are there other parts of the world you’d like to live in?
6. What do you find most challenging about blogging about your topic?
7. If you could travel back in time to meet a historical figure, who would it be and why?
8. Are there any books you read as a child that inspired your travel interests?
9. You are stranded on a desert island, with supplies and your ever-charged iPod. You can only have five bands/performers on it. Who are your five?
10. What is the title of the movie about your life?

Bis naechste Woche!!!