Observing Wisconsin
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
There are plenty of culture-shock inducing occurances around these parts o' the country. I came across a website that defines the lingo one might encounter in Wisconsin. Many of these were confounding to me upon our arrival in these lands. Now, I'm afraid to admit, I scarcely blink an eye. Here is a sampling:
BRAT (Braht)
Short for Bratwurst, Wisconsin's favorite sausage. Brats contain pork, beef, and spices. Lots of spices. A brat-fry is the social equivalent of the New England Clambake or the Texas Barbeque. Brats are not fried at a brat-fry, they are grilled over charcoal, simmered in a beer-and-onion broth, then served on a bun with mustard, onion, kraut, and a cold brew.
BUBBLER
A drinking fountain. Originally named after the valve, which caused the water to "bubble up" when turned on. Ask where the water-fountain is, and the Wisconsinite will direct you to the nearest bubbler.
COFFEE-KLUTCH
A friendly gathering at which coffee is drunk, schnecks consumed, and gossip is spread.
SCHNECK
Any sweet pastry, roll, or doughnut. The proper way to eat a schneck is to dunk (doonk) it in your coffee.
DAIRY AIR
Also known as HEIFER-MIST. Although some may think that this natural by-product of the dairy industry smells like manure, to a dairy-farmer it smells a lot like money. Just watch where you're walking.
FROZEN CUSTARD
A sinfully rich form of ice-cream made with real cream, real eggs, and real good! Not to be confused with "soft-serve", true frozen custard bypasses the digestive process and converts directly to body fat.
IMPORTED BEER
This is any variety of brewski that is not produced in Milwaukee. When you ask for an imported beer in a Milwaukee tavern, you'll probably get a Coors.
STOP'N GO LIGHTS
Traffic signals to you, but isn't that dull? After all, one light means stop, the other means go, so what else would you call them?
WINTER (Also known as a "WISCONSIN WINTER")
This is one of Wisconsin's two seasons which lasts approximately 9 months. The other season is the ROAD CONSTRUCTION season, lasting roughly 3 months.
Ahhhh yeh.... this is an "interesting" place we now call home.
Source: http://wisconsin.mattymo.com/lingo.htm
BRAT (Braht)
Short for Bratwurst, Wisconsin's favorite sausage. Brats contain pork, beef, and spices. Lots of spices. A brat-fry is the social equivalent of the New England Clambake or the Texas Barbeque. Brats are not fried at a brat-fry, they are grilled over charcoal, simmered in a beer-and-onion broth, then served on a bun with mustard, onion, kraut, and a cold brew.
BUBBLER
A drinking fountain. Originally named after the valve, which caused the water to "bubble up" when turned on. Ask where the water-fountain is, and the Wisconsinite will direct you to the nearest bubbler.
COFFEE-KLUTCH
A friendly gathering at which coffee is drunk, schnecks consumed, and gossip is spread.
SCHNECK
Any sweet pastry, roll, or doughnut. The proper way to eat a schneck is to dunk (doonk) it in your coffee.
DAIRY AIR
Also known as HEIFER-MIST. Although some may think that this natural by-product of the dairy industry smells like manure, to a dairy-farmer it smells a lot like money. Just watch where you're walking.
FROZEN CUSTARD
A sinfully rich form of ice-cream made with real cream, real eggs, and real good! Not to be confused with "soft-serve", true frozen custard bypasses the digestive process and converts directly to body fat.
IMPORTED BEER
This is any variety of brewski that is not produced in Milwaukee. When you ask for an imported beer in a Milwaukee tavern, you'll probably get a Coors.
STOP'N GO LIGHTS
Traffic signals to you, but isn't that dull? After all, one light means stop, the other means go, so what else would you call them?
WINTER (Also known as a "WISCONSIN WINTER")
This is one of Wisconsin's two seasons which lasts approximately 9 months. The other season is the ROAD CONSTRUCTION season, lasting roughly 3 months.
Ahhhh yeh.... this is an "interesting" place we now call home.
Source: http://wisconsin.mattymo.com/lingo.htm
Mommy Dinosaur
Friday, March 07, 2008
We are blest with comfy accomodations, staying with Sunny in Jonathan & Daniela Augustine's flat. Their son, Josiah, has quite a collection of dinosaurs that Lydia remembered quite fondly. My dear sweet Lydia (whose dollies never venture outside of their baby beds) is proving to be quite a doting momma to Josiah's dinosaurs. The dinosaurs took lots of naps today, during which the rest of us could only talk in hushed whispers. After naptime they all climbed on the couch for movie time. Such lucky little dinosaurs!
We're Back!
We're back in Prague and it feels surprisingly "normal" to me. I thought I would feel out of place, but it feels like we never left. Lydia seems to remember most everything and I assume she'll get tired of me asking "Do you remember........?" by the end of the week.
We had an insanely tight connection in Atlanta as we were flying over. Our flight from Milwaukee kept being delayed, and what was supposed to be a 1-1/2 hour connection ended up as a 20 minute connection. For those of you who are familiar with Atlanta's airport, you realize how seemingly impossible it is to make it from Concourse C to E in 20 minutes with a small child and 2 overloaded backpacks! I was shouting "Come on Lydia, run FAST!" all the way. After dropping her backpack, complaining her pants were falling down and telling me she had to go potty (of course!) I ended up carrying all the bags AND her. We made it to the gate with -10 seconds to spare. The door to the jetway and airplane were already closed and locked. I am sure that the fact I was toteing a small child (along with my frantic prayers) was the only reason they still let us on the plane. It honestly was a miracle that they reopened the doors. Lydia was an angel on the flight (it's SO easy to travel with ONE 4 year old!). But, as you can imagine, none of our four checked bags were traversing the baggage claim belt in Prague. Thankfully, we're staying with Sunny and we're in good hands. She supplied us with sleeping shirts and laundry facilities and our bags arrived today at noon, in good order.
Signs I am in Prague:
- Public places are smokey.
- While waiting in line for passport control, Lydia said, "Mom, I don't think we're in Wisconsin anymore..."
- Could customer service BE any slower???
- Personal space? I think NOT.
- Beer. It's not just for breakfast anymore.....
- "Hi. I am a beer truck and I will drive right up on this public sidewalk and you WILL move out of my way. Because I am a beer truck."
- Sunny + Latte
Oh, it's good to be back!
We had an insanely tight connection in Atlanta as we were flying over. Our flight from Milwaukee kept being delayed, and what was supposed to be a 1-1/2 hour connection ended up as a 20 minute connection. For those of you who are familiar with Atlanta's airport, you realize how seemingly impossible it is to make it from Concourse C to E in 20 minutes with a small child and 2 overloaded backpacks! I was shouting "Come on Lydia, run FAST!" all the way. After dropping her backpack, complaining her pants were falling down and telling me she had to go potty (of course!) I ended up carrying all the bags AND her. We made it to the gate with -10 seconds to spare. The door to the jetway and airplane were already closed and locked. I am sure that the fact I was toteing a small child (along with my frantic prayers) was the only reason they still let us on the plane. It honestly was a miracle that they reopened the doors. Lydia was an angel on the flight (it's SO easy to travel with ONE 4 year old!). But, as you can imagine, none of our four checked bags were traversing the baggage claim belt in Prague. Thankfully, we're staying with Sunny and we're in good hands. She supplied us with sleeping shirts and laundry facilities and our bags arrived today at noon, in good order.
Signs I am in Prague:
- Public places are smokey.
- While waiting in line for passport control, Lydia said, "Mom, I don't think we're in Wisconsin anymore..."
- Could customer service BE any slower???
- Personal space? I think NOT.
- Beer. It's not just for breakfast anymore.....
- "Hi. I am a beer truck and I will drive right up on this public sidewalk and you WILL move out of my way. Because I am a beer truck."
- Sunny + Latte
Oh, it's good to be back!
Self-Imposed Gag Order Lifted
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Ok. As you can see, I haven't written much lately. Truth be told, I've been in a really rough place lately and finding the words, much less the desire, to blog has been difficult. I'm not sure what the deal is, the brutal Wisconsin winter, (all Wisconsinites eagerly reassure me this is an unusually harsh winter), moving to a new state, or just the continual affects of repatriation. I suppose it's a combination of it all. It's been 7 months in our new surroundings and I think I expected to be so much farther along by now: friends, church, home. In many ways, I think it is just as hard (maybe even harder) to find my place in an unfamiliar American city than a foreign city. Every one seems so busy with their own lives and circles of friends that it's hard to break in socially. In contrast, in a foreign environment, people are so anxious to meet other people in their same situation and *gasp* that speak English that it's not long before you have a pretty good network going. So there you have the explanation behind my self-diagnosed my "Funk Syndrome".
In any case, Lydia and I are venturing back to Prague for a week March 6-13! We are both very excited to meet up with friends and have a little taste of the place that is now so special in our hearts. Brandon left this morning on a 3 week business trip that will take him to Japan, China and Germany. So he will meet up with us for a long weekend in Prague. Marcus will be staying in Wisconsin with Grandma Verbrugge (I'm not sure who I'm more concerned for: Marcus without Mommy, or Grandma with Marcus!). I find it humorous though.... when living in Prague, we found it necessary to escape the grey winter of Prague for a sunny getaway (usually sometime in March). Now, we flee the winterscape of Wisconsin via a getaway to Prague!
Here's to irony!
In any case, Lydia and I are venturing back to Prague for a week March 6-13! We are both very excited to meet up with friends and have a little taste of the place that is now so special in our hearts. Brandon left this morning on a 3 week business trip that will take him to Japan, China and Germany. So he will meet up with us for a long weekend in Prague. Marcus will be staying in Wisconsin with Grandma Verbrugge (I'm not sure who I'm more concerned for: Marcus without Mommy, or Grandma with Marcus!). I find it humorous though.... when living in Prague, we found it necessary to escape the grey winter of Prague for a sunny getaway (usually sometime in March). Now, we flee the winterscape of Wisconsin via a getaway to Prague!
Here's to irony!
