According to my friend Drew the local dialect of Sheboygan, Wisconsin uses the word “schnibbel” to describe a scrap piece of paper. I had an inclination that this word had German roots so I whipped out the translator on my Tungsten C. Sure enough schnibbel is derived from the masculine/neuter German noun Schnippel.
The thousands of dollars I will be paying well into my 50’s for my college education has payed off. Thanks Drew.
Achtung all Operation Übertaco operatives.:
Upon arrival at Terminal 1 of Frankfurt Flughafen (airport) make your way to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station). Walk across the street to the tres chic, yet cheap for students, Colour Hotel. The mobile base of operations will setup there until departure to Marburg.
Your leader by default,
Ken
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During WWII both Warner Brothers and Disney produced animated cartoons featuring prominent Nazi figures. In Warner Brother’s “Herr meets Hare” a lost Bugs Bunny finds himself confronted by a gun-toting Hermann Göring. In Disney’s “Education for Death” a young boy is indoctrinated from birth until death in the Nazi Gleichschaltung. It is a shame that these types of cartoons are no longer shown on networks. They have serious historical merit not found in current sugary-sweet entertainment options for children.
Attention all Operation Übertaco operatives:
The official flag for Ü-day operations has been announced. The Germans will greet us as liberators when flying the pink taco flag. For reference for non-german speakers: “Einigkeit durch mexikanisches Essen” means “Unity through mexican food.”
Your questionably-sane leader,
High Commander Ken
Operatives are required to memorize the map above (click to enlarge) for referance purposes. Ü-day will be hectic and soldiers lost along the way will have to fend for themselves among the Germans.
High Commander Ken
Everyone casually jokes about how when an American goes to Europe they should say “Ich komme aus Kanada.” Doing so may prevent a confrontation with a local who is upset with the oh… I don’t know… one or two things that the current US administration has done. I refuse to do this. Rather than say I am from Canada I have come up with some clever alternatives.
PS: Did you know that in the local Umgängsprache (colloquial dialect) for Berlin, President JFK’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” quote meant that he said he was a jelly doughnut. “Ich bin Berliner” would have been the appropriate translation, but the locals all knew what he meant.
For those of you who don’t know I went to a private parochial school until 8th grade. St. Paul Lutheran’s graduating class of 1998 had only nine people. Two years of preschool, one year of kindergarten, and eight years of private education gave me a significant leg up in public high school. It was painfully obvious among my peers that I had not gone to public school. Those 11 years of private education set me apart and I’m sure my parents are more than happy with their investment. Private education does not come cheap, but its gains are exponential. It came as a bit of a shock when I began to achieve in the 3.4 – 4.0 GPA range in college when all during high school I had a persistent 2.3 GPA. I now appreciate the sacrifices made by my parents as I am preparing to become a public school teacher. But education is not all about reading, writing, and arithmetic as an essential portion comes from interacting with the world around you. It is time for me to put my German education into practice this coming March until August.
In Germany I plan to absorb as much of the country, its people, and its culture as possible. It is my intention to update my site as often as I can. I want to chronicle my experiences along the way. I assure you that many will involve my adjusting to German customs and embarrassing situations I got into. Along the way I plan on taking hundreds of photos and posting them to my flickr.com account. But in order for these experiences to occur I require funding. Thusly it is with reservation that I request a small donation from you.
My current financial situation is as follows. I have paid for tuition and have money set aside for airfare housing, food, and insurance. The $1000 grant from the Wisconsin government has been allotted to the payment of these things. My parents have set aside an account to help pay for other items I will need. I have been working 3rd shift at Festival Foods in Oshkosh to try to scrounge up funding for my trip. Currently I am scheduled for only 24 hours/week, but Festival has been cutting my hours. The week of January 15 – 21 I am only scheduled for 16 hours and those shifts are guaranteed to be cut short. Rent alone for February will be approximately $400, not to mention food and other costs. Any additional savings earned for my trip will not last very long.
The cost of an education is not just tuition. It includes all of the minor payments along the way. What does a small donation afford? It gives me the chance to eat a government-subsidized meal in “Mensa” with other German students. I can send a letter to my girlfriend that contains a German chocolate bar to help stem her feelings of being alone, even if only for a minute. I can travel via the Intercontinental Express to Berlin, Vienna, and Frankfurt to absorb all of the museums. I can grab my backpack and venture to the Dachau concentration camp and pay homage to the fallen. I can purchase daily necessities such as razors, shampoo, and most importantly, soap. I can venture to the Eckkneipe and order an Oktoberfest Spaten Bier with my German friends. It gives me enough scratch to purchase coffee at 3am as I translate a load of homework as a full-time student. In going about all of these activities I will experience firsthand what some textbooks only describe. I will learn the language necessary to function and in doing so improve my future prospects of being a German teacher.
Your small donation can be received directly through PayPal. PayPal is the internet’s most secure method of sending money. I have been using it to handle all of my eBay buying and selling transactions. In the five years of using it I have never had a problem where the security of my credit card or checking account has been compromised. All you need to do is click the PayPal link below to begin. Once you make a donation an e-mail notification will be sent to me. You don’t even have to sign up for PayPal. It is just that easy… and thank you.
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The invasion of Germany (Operation Übertaco) date has been set. American Airlines Flight 944 departs from O’Hare on March 1, 2007. Until then the kenfager.com staff is aquiring massive amounts of supplies from the local Taco Bell. Please note the following.:
A letter from Philipps-Universitaet arrived a few days ago officially stating that I am now enrolled for the 2007 Sommersemester. From March until August this year I will be updating my site in the beautiful college city of Marburg. I was originally anticipating an April departure date. Prior to the semester beginning there will be a short language course teaching “survival” German. Thank you to all who guided me along the way.
The next two months are now filled with paperwork and preparation. I am also in dire need of someplace cheap to stay for the month of February in Oshkosh. Any help would be greatly appreciated as my contract to live in Stewart Hall will expire in January. On the bright side, however, I have been able to find plane fare to Frankfurt for only $270. This is much cheaper than the wallet scraping $1100 I had originally found.
A thanks goes out to Wisconsin tax payers. Even though the current legislators have cut millions from the UW system in the past few years making it extremely difficult for future teachers to graduate, I gladly accept the $1000 grant you have bestowed toward my education. This will pay for me to fly to Germany. Thank you.