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Directories
Thanksgiving, Expat style
Our Thanksgiving party was a roaring success. We had 24 guests, pretty evenly split between German speakers and English speakers. Charlie was a hit with the kids and surprisingly well-behaved. I’m not worried at all anymore about him interacting with Oliver when Oliver’s a little older.
There were several expat bloggers in attendance, all of whom are great cooks. O-Tay brought pumpkin soup, Sarah and Cliff brought the taters, Tammy brought a nut loaf, and Hezamarie came all the way from München with a delish corn cake. Speaking of Hezamarie, she brought me this hydrangea (That’s what it’s called! 
) and I love the colors. Do any of my gardening readers know what kind of hydrangea this is? Cause I definitely want one of these in my garden.
And now, the recipes:
Tropical fruit salsa with jalapeno and bell peppers- instead of jalapenos, I used a tablespoon of Srirachi sauce.
Spice butter- I rubbed this over the turkey before cooking. I also accidentally used salted butter instead of unsalted, so it turned out a little (okay, a lot) on the salty side.
Bourbon cranberry sauce - instead of bourbon, I used cognac. This was much better than last year’s fig-based sauce (especially once Lynn told me that figs are full of wasp eggs… BLECH!)
Apple, sausage, and parsnip stuffing with fresh sage- I couldn’t find parsnips (Pastinak, auf Deutsch), so I used parsley root. Instead of Italian sausage, I used an Aoste Wurst with figs and a very spicy Hungarian Wurst (I forget the brand). I also did not peel the apples.
Orange-flavored sweet potatoes with oatmeal cookie topping- I added 1/4 cup of cognac to the potatoes. Our neighbor asked Rainer why these taste like Christmas. It’s because I use German Christmas cookies instead of oatmeal cookies. Last year it was a mix of Lebkuchenand Leibniz Vollkornkeks, this year it was a mix of Spekulatius (Speculaas) and Magenbrot (this year’s topping was better, I’d say).
Ultimate pumpkin pie - The Germans and Austrians seemed to be a little afraid to try the pumpkin pie. I made two 9” pies, keeping in mind that I had 26 mouths to fill. At the end of the party, I had a pie and a half left. But, this recipe rocks, so plenty of pie leftovers for ME!
Chunky Oatmeal Macadamia Cookies- these are great and super easy since they’re made with yellow cake mix. I used Schmelzflocken for the quick cooking oatmeal, because that’s what Rainer got.
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The Book Quiz
Because it’s been going around and because I’m so busy cookin’ that I don’t have time to write up a more substantial post.
You’re Prufrock and Other Observations!
by T.S. Eliot
Though you are very short and often overshadowed, your voice is poetic and lyrical. Dark and brooding, you see the world as a hopeless effort of people trying to impress other people. Though you make reference to almost everything, you’ve really heard enough about Michelangelo. You measure out your life with coffee spoons.
Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.
I don’t think I’m not all that short, or often overshadowed, and I’m not so sure about the dark and brooding part…
What’s good at Aldi?
One of the daunting things of moving to a new country, is not know which brands are good. I avoided the discount supermarket Aldi for a long time because, although I’d heard there was really good stuff in there, I had also heard there was stuff to avoid, and I didn’t have a lifetime of experience knowing the good from the bad.
So now I am presenting you an Aldi “shopping list.” I’ve gone through the last four years of Stiftung Warentest (a German Consumer Reports type magazine), and written down all the Aldi products that have gotten a “good” or “very good” rating. Now, they could be the test winner, or they could have placed 15th, but they are at least “gut.”
Aldi Nord
Apple juice, unfiltered: Apfelblüte
Pasta, refrigerated: Delikato Fleisch-Tortelloni
Baby diapers: Vibelle Play
Batteries, AA and AAA: Top Craft Ultra Alkaline
Bread, white sandwich: Goldähren Butter Toast
Chocolate, milk: Moser-Roth Edel Vollmilch
Dog food, for all breeds and ages: Alnutra High Premium Trockennahrung
Face cream, anti-wrinkle night: Biocura Beauty Gesichtspflege Nachtcreme Antifalten
Hair gel, extra strong: Kyrell Styling Gel
Laundry detergent, colors: Unamat Color ultra-plus
Laundry detergent, heavy duty: Tandil ultra-plus
Light bulbs, energy efficient: Elektronische Energiesparlampe E27 12W and Varilux E27 11W
Margarine: Delikata Frühstücks-Margarine
Mashed potato mix: Aldi Nord Kartoffel-Püree
Muesli, with fruit: Gletscherkrone Activ Müsli Frucht, probiotisch
Olive oil: Daidalos Grieschisches Natives Olivenöl extra
Orange juice: Rio d’oro Orange Premiumdirektsaft
Salmon, frozen Atlantic: Golden Seafood
Shower gel for sensitive skin: Mildeen Pflegedusche Sensitive
Shrimp, frozen large warm water: Golden Seafood King Prawns Riesengarnelenschwänzen
Sunscreen (also for kids): Ombra Sun Care Sonnenmilch
Toilet paper: Solo Luxus
Tomatoes, canned: King’s Crown ganze Tomaten, geschält, im eigenen Saft
Toothpaste: Eurodont Aktiv Fresh
Aldi Süd
Apple juice, filtered: Rio d’oro
Apple juice, unfiltered: Rio d’oro
Baby diapers: Mamia “entdecken”
Chocolate, milk: Moser-Roth Edel Vollmilch
Dishwasher tabs, multifunction: Alio complete
Dog food, for all breeds and ages: Maximus High Premium Trockennahrung
Face cream, men’s: Prince Cool Intensiv Creme For Men
Face cream, anti-wrinkle night: Lacura Gesichtspflege Nachtcreme Antifalten
Fish fillet, frozen: Almare Seafood Schlemmerfilet “Bordelaise”
Frying pan: Prodecon Schüttrandpfanne Promont
Honey: Goldland Wild Blüte
Laundry detergent, colors: Tandil Color ultra-plus
Laundry detergent, heavy duty: Tandil ultra-plus
Margarine: Bellasan Pflanzen Margarine
Milk, ultra high treatment: Milfina H-Milch
Mozzarella: Cucina
Muesli, with fruit: Knusperone Früchte-Müsli Premium
Orange juice: Rio d’oro Orange Premiumdirektsaft
Pasta, refrigerated: Cucina Fleisch-Tortelloni
Salmon, frozen Atlantic: Aqua
Shampoo, anti-dandruff: Kür Pflege Shampoo Anti-Schuppen
Shower gel for sensitive skin: Caribic Pflegedusche Sensitive
Soy milk: bio Soya Drink Naturell mit Calcium
Sunscreen: Ombia Sun Sonnenmilch
Sunscreen for kids: Ombia Sun Sonnen Milch für Kinder
Toilet paper: Kokett
Toothpaste: Friscodent
Rainer is a big fan of the higher end Aldi (Süd) cheese and cold cuts (“Don’t get the super cheap stuff” - he says). I thought their Nürnbergers were good. The only thing I haven’t been that pleased with is the meat. I just bought a pack of the diapers to test out myself, and most of the Rio d’oro juices are direktsaft (not from concentrate), which I prefer.
Update (10 Feb 2008): The diapers are good, but they leak occasionally, so I’m sticking with Pampers. Additionally, I can recommend the jalepeno poppers and the veggie burgers.
What are your favorite Aldi products?
A Controversial Address, Part 2
In part 1, I asked if referring to an American as an Ami was derogatory in German. I read the many comments with interest and can only conclude that to some people it is, and to some it isn’t.
I was a bit dismayed to find that some people might take offense at what I called my blog. I certainly didn’t want to be the girl with the N-word blog. I went through moments where I briefly considered moving the blog again to avoid the conflict. In the end, I’ve decided that the blog stays here.
I don’t agree that Ami is the same as the N-word or other racial/ethnic slurs. Rainer tells me that it’s neutral, an informal (not low class) means of addressing an American. It can certainly be used in an insulting way, but is not inherently insulting in itself. Otherwise, why would sportscasters be tolerated who use the term Amis when giving play by play for a game involving the US team?
I know that there are people who feel differently than I do, and their reasons are valid. They have different life experiences than I do. I’m not trying to ignore their feelings or say they are of little consequence, I thought long and hard about what to do here. In the end, it came down to my life experiences. In five and a half years, I’ve never heard Ami used in an insulting way, and it was not until moving to Regensburg that I had a significant amount of native English speakers as friends. In Potsdam, I hung around mostly with a group of older, set in their ways, Berlinisch-speaking men who certainly did not censor their thoughts around me. Perhaps their are regional differences, with the former American zones being most affected. Perhaps it depends on what time period you lived in Germany, or who your instructors were. I’m sure if I lived through the RAF (Rote Armee Faktion) instigated terrorism, I would feel differently.
If Ami bothers you, then I hope you can see the irony in the blog’s address, or respect that I’m “taking Ami back.” If you can no longer stand to log on to the blog at this address, well, I’m sorry you feel that way, and I understand, but I’ve got to stick by my convictions.
I hope that all made sense, I’m completely exhausted at the moment, but I’ve kept two blog posts on hold to give this topic the attention I thought it deserved. And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
A controversial address?
So, it seems I’ve stirred things up a tiny bit in the expat blogger world (well, I caused two blog posts to be written, if that can be considered stirring things up). I, mostly unknowingly, picked a controversial address for my blog, namely, AMIexpat. Martina wonders why I would pick this as an address, while PapaScott questions whether the term Ami is an insult. To be honest, I picked it because (1) it was less cumbersome that AmericanExpatinDeutschland.com, (2) I thought it concisely, at least to those in the know, made clear that I was an American in Germany, and (3) it is a little bit of a play on language, with “Ami” meaning “friend” in French, making me, uh…. Christina the friendly expat?
After reading through PapaScott’s post, I was reminded by Cem of Sprechblase’s comment that “Ami go home” was an anti-American slogan used by student protesters in the late 1960s (I vaguely remember reading about this in high school history class). But both Wikipedia and Leo German-English dictionary define Ami as a slang term for an American, not a derogatory term.
In the comments to both posts, I mentioned that I’ve been much more irritated by having to say I was “US-Amerikanerin” because many Germans doubt my Americanness based, I suppose, on the fact that I am Asian-American (or half-Asian, however you want to define me). I, personally, have never heard Ami used as an insult, but maybe that’s because I’m clearly foreign and Germans don’t use that kind of language in front of foreigners. Although, several Germans I’ve met have gone on to thoroughly bash the Turkish after find out that I’m “one of the good foreigners.”
What did Rainer, as my live-in German, have to say? I mentioned the hubbub to him and he said, “What’s wrong with Ami, it’s just short for American?” I brought up the “Ami go home” slogan, and his response was, ”Yeah, we can also say ‘American go home.’”
So what do you think?
7 Random Facts About Me
I’ve been tagged by Swenglishexpat and American in Bad Homberg, so here goes.
1. My favorite sandwich when I was a kid was toasted peanut butter and Longhorn-Colby cheese. My favorite dinner was tuna casserole. Is that weird enough for ya?
2. I ate jalepeno poppers at least twice a week when I was pregnant. Haven’t wanted one since I gave birth. I guess that was my pregnancy craving.
3. I’ve never done a winter sport. Never been skiing, ice skating, snow shoeing, nada. I am certain that if I ever try, I will break a leg.
4. I miss autumn in Virginia more than any other time. I think next year I’m going to schedule my trip so that I get to see the leaves at their peak. I haven’t been there for autumn since moving to Germany.
5. It took a little over 5 years in Germany (or maybe it was having a baby), but I don’t care at all about hair removal anymore. (I stopped waxing my arms in year two and it has just continued since then). I suppose I’ll have some heavy duty personal care to do before we leave for the US this Christmas!
6. Johnny Cash makes me think of my grandpa, Elvis makes me think of my dad.
7. I’m happy being a stay at home mom. That’s something I never would have imagined being true before Oliver came along.
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Here are the rules which you must abide by if you are tagged.
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 3 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.
I am tagging: no one, since everyone seems to have done this already. Haven’t done it? Do it and leave a comment here! Did it already? Feel free to leave a link.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Our garden, yesterday
Yep, that’s right, winter came early to Bavaria this year. It’s been snowing for the past week. A lot of it melts during the day, but we’ve definitely got a whole Christmas vibe going here in south Germany (helped along by all the Lebkuchen and Stollen which have been on the supermarket shelves for a month already!).
If you’re ever in Parsberg, a very cute town, by the way, stop in for a bite at Hotel zum Hirschen. They seem to specialize in venison dishes and have their own Metzgerei (butcher shop) where you can get really good quality meat. Both times I’ve been there, the food has been excellent, and Rainer deems it the “Best Germany food in the area.” Guten Appetit!
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Christina and Oliver at Hotel Hirschen last night
8 days to Thanksgiving - I got the turkey last night, a 24 pounder! I was planning not to make cranberry sauce this year, until I mentioned it to Rainer last night. He strenuously objected, apparently it’s not Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce, so I searched the internet high and low and came up with a new, easy to make recipe. Normally I brine the turkey, and I’m debating with myself over whether that’s really necessary. I’m trying to keep the amount of prep time to a minimum, but we’ll see.
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