I do not normally do New Year's resolutions, but I've discovered that the life of a Haus Frau can become a bit driftless if one isn't careful. Then you begin to feel as if your whole life is merely housework. I've actually done a pretty good job of keeping engaged and involved in a number of activities outside the home, but the former manager in me seems to be craving a bit more structure.
So I decided to set some resolutions for myself for this year.
Goal: Expand Freelance Writing
A few months ago I started freelancing for an American organization based in Germany. Currently I spend an average of 5 hours per week writing for them. I've discovered that not only do I really enjoy writing, but I rather like the extra money it brings in as well. I'd like to explore additional opportunities for freelance writing.
Action: Expand to 15-20 hours of freelance writing per week.
Goal: Learn More Vegetarian Recipes
I am a really lazy cook. If the meal takes me more than about 15 minutes to prepare, I really cannot be bothered. Mostly because food just doesn't matter that much to me. Most of my focus for the last 2-3 years has been "will this make me feel sick" rather than if I enjoy the food or not. Frankly, I'd be perfectly happy rotating through one of about three meals pretty much indefinitely, especially as I know that none of them make me sick. But I should probably work to develop a healthier attitude towards food again. And I realize that GLH is probably tired of the current rotation.
Action: Make at least 1 new recipe each week. Track which recipes are good and which should never be made again.
Goal: Expand Reading
I realized that this past year I have read, almost exclusively, novels. Mostly historical novels, to be specific. I'd like to expand my reading interests a bit and perhaps get back into some nonfiction reading as well. Perhaps I could even combine historical novels with nonfiction works on the same topic?
Action: Read at least one nonfiction title per month
Goal: Become Literate in German
I continue to struggle with learning a new language. The work of learning German is dull and monotonous. Since I enjoy reading so much, I thought perhaps reading in German would motivate me more.
Action: Read at least one novel in German by the end of the year
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2008
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Travels in 2008
- January: Cleveland, US
- February: Cairo, Egypt
- March: Naples, Italy
- April: Kansas City, US
- May: Las Vegas, US; Berlin, Germany
- June: Hong Kong, China (GLH only)
- July: Eastern Mediterranean Cruise
- August:
- September: San Antonio, US
- October: Minnesota, US
- November:
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Travels in 2007
- January: Basel, Switzerland; Milan, Italy; Winterthur, Switzerland
- February: Konstanz, Germany; Paris, France; Prangins, Switzerland; Rapperswil, Switzerland
- March: Bern, Switzerland; Schaffhausen, Switzerland; United States; Zug, Switzerland
- April: Aarau, Switzerland; Ballenberg, Switzerland; Basel, Switzerland; Colmar, France; Interlaken, Switzerland; Luzern, Switzerland; Maienfeld, Switzerland; Rome, Italy; Solothurn, Switzerland; Strasbourg, France; Stuttgart, Germany
- May: Bern, Switzerland; Dublin, Ireland; Geneva, Switzerland; Innsbruck, Austria; Lausanne, Switzerland; Lyon, France; Montreux, Switzerland; Munich, Germany; Salzburg, Austria
- June: Einsiedeln, Switzerland; United States
- July: St. Ursanne, Switzerland; Winterthur, Switzerland
- August: Basel, Switzerland; Brussels, Belgium; Copenhagen, Denmark; Dijon, France; Chartres, France; Gdansk, Poland; Helsinki, Finland; Interlaken, Switzerland; Luzern, Switzerland; Oslo, Norway; Paris, France; St. Petersburg, Russia; Stockholm, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia
- September: Ballenberg, Switzerland; Einsiedeln, Switzerland; Mallorca, Spain; Zug, Switzerland
- October: Munich, Germany; Paris, France; Venice, Italy
- November: London, England; United States
- December: Munich, Germany; Nuremberg, Germany; Salzburg, Austria
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7 comments:
I recommend starting with children's novels...try something by Michael Ende or Cornelia Funke. They're fun, and you won't have to reach for the dictionary every two minutes or spend half the morning just digesting one page-long sentence. Also, try subscribing to Der Spiegel. It's entertaining, contemporary, interesting to read, and the article length isn't too daunting.
German books, eh? Well, I'm going to go for children's German books - the very simple ones. That will be my level. Not too many words, lots of repitition. Wonder what the German equivalent of 'Janet and John' is?
India
ah - heidi beat me to it!
India
Opps. Guess I should have further explained. I've been reading German children's books for the last year and I frequently read the local, freebie newspaper.
This one is to push me to read German at a higher level!
Since you want to read an adult novel, you could be really ambitious and try Goethe's Faust. Not that I've ever read it, but you might appreciate that every German that we met, after laughing at my wife's name because it was "very old", would then say "did you know that is a very famous name because of Goethe?". Evidently everyone in Germany (or at least the unscientific sample we met) has read Goethe at some point.
"Ah, Gretchen! Do you know the "Gretchen Frage?"
I hear that on almost a daily basis!
But Faust is hard enough to understand in English. I might start with a lighter German novel. Any good German chick lit authors out there?
I found starting with short story collections before moving on to a novel very helpful. Judith Hermann's Sommerhaus Spater is quite good, or Peter Stamm if you want a Swiss author. Actually, Stamm's novel Agnes was one of the first novels I finished in German. I find his writing very accessible.
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