Interview

Well this is long overdue. But this was an activity from Tammy's recipes. She left me a few questions to answer on my blog.

1. What are some of the interesting/amusing aspects of an inter-national marriage?

Well I think the biggest thing will be cultural differences. And that can be amusing and challenging at the same time. I mean we have had times when we laughed until we cried, but there are also plenty of times where you just do not understand why the other person does don't respond/do/or say certain things while they strive to understand why they are perceived as being in the wrong.

Some of our funniest moment have been language related. My husband speaks great english, but that does not mean he knows every word there is too know or the connotations of common idioms and metaphors. We have had everything from switching word intestines to testicles o_O, to totally wrong translations master tape for ligaments, ha. The fun never ends.

But at the same time in a international marriage, no matter what you decide to do, or where you end up. One of you has to sacrifice the world you have grown up in and are accustomed to. I realize that I am so lucky to have the chance to live in Europe and I have so many amazing opportunities I may never have had otherwise. But that does not come without a cost. I sacrificed my education, my family, and my everyday life the simple things such as foods we are accustomed to. You ever truly realize how much you will miss home until you are so far away. But I would do it again in a heartbeat. And for everyone thing I sacrificed I also gained a new opportunity or experience here.

2. Are you hoping for a baby boy or baby girl -- or do you not have a preference?
Yes and No.In my heart like most women I want a girl. My husband also wants a girl. When people ask I usually just say I think its a boy. I would be happy either way. But also do not want to attach myself to one idea or the other and then feel let down or disappointed. In the end I am blessed either way.

3. Do you cook for fun/as a hobby, or because you have to?

I would say a combination of both. After moving overseas you quickly realize that many items you were accustomed too back home, are not widely available if at all. One of the biggest realizations for me, was the lack of easy to prepare or packaged foods, which in all honesty I now feel we rely to heavily on in the US. Ok in all fairness I was a young college student, so I am not saying there are not fabulous cooks in the US, but I think we are taught from a young age to seek out the convenient.

In addition many food varieties that I enjoyed back home were not available, and while there are naturally many items that one cannot make themselves, or exceeds ones cooking abilities, there are many dup recipes that really do help bring a sense of home back. 

When I was first married we lived of convenience foods- pizza, fishsticks, sandwiches. Heck I don't think I even served a side with that. lol. I do not recall the time at which I started exploring cooking other things. I imagine it was after we moved into a new home and I had a lovely new kitchen and plenty of free time. But I started with the simple things, things like sloppy joe mix (from my family back home), or simple things like pasta. Over times I started recipies that were very basic only a handful of ingredients. And then now I try a recipie once, if it works out and I am comfortable with it, its a keeper. 

While I do enjoy cooking and providing in that means for my family, I also have the days where I just want to throw my hands up and scream (as my german husband would say) I don't want! I am hoping with time it becomes more routine and easier. Hopefully I will learn some tips and tricks along the way.

4. Tell me about your favorite German food!

Oh goodness, there are tons. The funny thing is I always say, if I am in Germany I miss the US, but if I was in the US I would miss Germany (hence the name of my blog it translates to: I left my heart in Germany). So my solution we annex California or maybe Idaho who needs them right and glue germany in their place :)

There are a lot of food that are commonly associated with germany- pretzels (the kind made from the dark dough not the soft mall kind), beer, bratwurst, and schnitzel. All are great. Germany is known for thousands of beers and sausages, personally in my opinion Thuringen bratwurst are the best.

But the Germans also make some killer salads- carrot cucumber, potato, noodle. They also made amazing pastries and cakes. They are very different from the US style of cakes more like a tart in my opinion and often made with fresh fruit. But they are great.


5. What's one of your favorite things about your husband?

I love the fact that he is silly, he loves to laugh and make other people laugh. And no matter how angry he is he can never stay mad more then a few minutes. Hes opinionated as hell, but at the same time the most compassionate and caring guy you could meet. He's shy and insecure, but I love that about him. He never places himself above anyone else.

If you want to play along:

1 - Leave a comment with your blog URL, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 - I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3 - You'll update your blog with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 - You'll include this explanation.
5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.