Germerican Denglish

Check it out, I have been nominated for the “Liebster Award”!

You know what that is?  Neither did I until today.  It means that another blogger thinks my up-and-coming blog is good enough that it deserves some recognition.  Who was this wise blogger you ask?  Why it was Southeast Schnitzel who is, funny enough, similar to me while being practically a total opposite since he is a German who blogs about living in America.  So, I hereby and with much humility thank Southeast Schitzel for thinking me deserving.  But, apparently there are rules to this deal, so here they are:

• Each person must post 11 things about themselves
• Answer the questions that the nominator set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve nominated to answer
• Choose 11 people and link them in your post
• Go to their page and tell them

Let’s get on with it!  11 things about me:

1. I am the luckiest man in the world, because I am married to the most beautiful, wonderful woman in the world (who just so happens to be German)
2. I have the cutest little Germerican on the planet for a son, who never ceases to amaze me
3. I have turned into a soccer fan (Bayern München!), but refuse to call it football in English
4. I am still a huge Football fan
5. I love riding my Mountain Bike (my wife hates that thing)
6. I drive the German car in the family
7. I learned most of my German in the first two years I lived here
8. I am from Oregon (pronounced O-ree-gun!)
9. I love World War II history
10. My wife calls me Monk (like the TV show), because I am VERY particular about some things (ok, she says a lot of things)
11. I love Rammstein.  I liked them before, but after learning German I have become a big time fan

Now for the 11 questions posed to me:

1. What is your home (native) culture?  USA
2. Name five of your favorite stereotypes about your home culture.  5, wow, uhhhhh…. We are all prude, have an unhealthy diet, drive big cars, make too much small talk, and get divorced all the time
3. In your home culture, what do you believe is the most difficult thing/aspect/feature to get used to?  The speed limit!  Ha!
4. Think of other cultures you have lived and/or worked in: Which one was the hardest to get acclimated with and why?  Germany; I can’t get used to the emphasis on punctuality (in non-work life)
5. Please describe the most embarrassing cultural faux pas you or somebody you know ever committed.  I introduced a male friend of mine as a Krankenschwester, which is German for nurse.  The problem is, in German many job titles are gender dependent and I introduced him as a “Female Nurse”!
6. What do you consider the most critical skill(s) to have as an expatriate?  Patience
7. What is your favorite advice for expats?  Never stop learning the language
8. What do you recommend to people who are leading across cultures?  Hard to say, as my personal life is multi-cultural but my work life is still mainly American.
9. What is the best advice you ever got?  Keep an open mind
10. What are your favorite travel destinations?  French Rivera and The Netherlands
11. Why do you blog?  Originally, to share the adventures of our bilingual family.  Now, that plus to create a record for my son to read when he gets older and for the joy of writing.

And then we pose 11 questions to those I nominate:

1. Where were you raised?
2. What do you miss about it?
3. What do you NOT miss about it?
4. Where do you think of as home now?
5. What do you like the most about it?
6. What do you like the least about it?
7. What traits have you acquired in your adopted culture?
8. How many languages do you speak?
9. What is your favorite hobby?
10. What is your favorite blog?
11. Why do you blog?

And finally, here are my “Liebster Award Nominees:

• expatsincebirth: An expat-since-birth multilingual mum in her forties living in the Netherlands with her Swissgerman husband, son and twin-daughters
• Gesundheit, suze!: The everyday life in a German-American relationship
• hadafewbeers: Very funny American in German, but not for the faint of heart!
• Brit in Bavaria: Travels, Adventures and Misdemeanours in Germany
• Thomas & Christina Goodwin: We are married, from Oregon and here to blog about our life, marriage and travels as expats

(I must apologize to the Academy, but I don’t know that many other blogs and can therefore only nominate 5 at this time.  Plus, 2 of my favorites were already nominated.  But rest assured, I will add more once I discover some that are deserving)

So there it is, the Liebster Award.  I still think it is cool that somebody thought me worthy.  I am humbled.  Thanks man.

I hope you enjoy the blogs that I like to read

 

UPDATE:  Two Blogs that I would have nominated, had they not already been by the very blog that nominated me, are Grounded Traveler and Oh God, My Wife is German.  I enjoy these blogs very much and did not want to totally exclude them.