Things I've learned in my 11 weeks here (part 1)
I wanted to get some of this written down before I forgot about them. (Warning: Random list ahead.)
1. False cognates are tricky buggers. I've caught myself about to say "actually" instead of "currently" a few times since we arrived here. In English.2. It's not bad weather that makes people fall ill. It's inappropriate/unsuitable clothing. At least that's what they say here. And to a certain extent it's true. 3. Bouché was a botanist who introduced greenhouses to the Prussian royal court. He came from a family of botanists and entomologists. (I can only imagine what dinner conversation during the holidays was like.) 4. There's more than one of everything in Berlin. C. and I joke about it, but it's more true than we thought. Two towers: the radio tower in the west, the TV tower in the east. Before the Hauptbahnhof there were two stations: Zoo in the west and Ostbahnhof in the east. Until last year, there were two airports: Tegel in the west and Tempelhof in the east. And so on... 5. "zu mitnehmen" = to go. Very useful phrase 6. Data packages on prepaid SIM cards: O2 has decent wireless coverage in most parts of the city and the prepaid UMTS data plan worked well for me. I started with the 1GB package for €15/month then dropped to the 200MB pack for €10/month when I didn't wind up using all 1GB. Beyond the package limit they cap the transfer rate to GPRS speed, so it's still (barely) usable.I also received more than one recommendation for Blau prepaid in response to queries about wireless data so I figured I would mention them here. Don't know what the specifics are but I suppose one could check their web site blau.deUseful link: http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=177316