May 17, 2004

• Reverse culture shock is often worse. I have a friend who lived in Germany for a decade, so I'll ask him, but one thing I do know is not to put too much ice in their drinks--it seems to be something they get to acclimated to. That and blood sausage, though that's not always the case. On an only slightly more serious note, one book I think has been useful for both long-term expats and some spouses/significant others who follow said expats back to this country is Bill Bryson's "I'm a Stranger Here Myself." In case you don't know, Bryson is a travel and humour writer who lived for 20 years in England, and then found adjusting to a radically changed America very unusual. not the most practical guidebook per se, but very entertaining. Myself, I'm leaving for Germany in a week. Woo-hoo!
• Perhaps just keeping himself warm in the literature of expats might help? The two obvious choices: A Moveable Feast and Tropic of Cancer. Perhaps spending his evenings with a warm glass of whiskey and some European debauchery might help soothe his Continental yearnings. ;-)
• I'm totally here for more info on the ass tat! or even if there is none it was fun to say. type. whatever
• Yeah, um, could we go ahead and get a visual on that?
• thirded on ass interest. Sidedish, you minx, you!
• i have a great jpeg of my tatt but nowhere to post it! arg. such great advice you guys have! i'll get a copy of those books for him. i also bought him a deutschland world cup soccer jersey and i'll frame a pic of his house. i think mainly he'll miss the beer! compared to german beer, american stuff is piss water.
• Another really good Bryson book is Neither Here Nor There, in which he retraces his old college tour of Europe. Very funny, very interesting. Bryson's middle name should be changed to "Effing." As to the beer, imports abound here in the States.
• SideDish! I'm so happy for you guys. No more long distance relationship crap, eh? Congrats...
• oh I'll post it for you Side Dish. In a heartbeat.
• are we going to have a tat-posting link? i've got one on my butt as well, that's older than some of you monkeys. /i had it redone, though, to keep it somewhat modern. they're like clothes; need to be updated periodically over the years. sidedish, i suspect he's going to need lots of support and stress escapes. as has been said, one can never return home, in this case,i see 'home' rendering into a state of chaos and he will have such difficulties finding viable traces of a 'home' he can claim as his own. a type of sanctuary of his own will help him decompress.
• yeah, dx, that's why we're opting for separate residences at first. it's tough enough coping with what america has become as a society, plus all the personal stuff. he'll be right down the street from me in his own place. but close enough to run to my house in the middle of the night in his jammies! heh. let's start a "share your tattoo" thread! i'll email mine to iggy.
• Also, showing us the tatt will help us him. Dxlifer, that's a good idea, the official MonkeyFilter "Branded Tails" site! My mind is awhirl with images! Everyone knows that monkey ass is funny! Except mine, which is superfine.
• This thread has gone HORRIBLY wrong. Won't someone think of the children?
• yes, won't someone think of the horrible children?
• more importantly: how can I get my wife to get my name tatooed on her ass?
• I've got a tattoo of a butt . . heh heh . . on my butt .. and it's got a tattoo of a butt on it. /beavis
• Monkeyfilter: here for more info on the ass tat.
• for my own clarification: ass tat = good asshat = bad
• Congrats to you both SideDish! As one who made the move for love last year, I noticed it didn't take long for the separate places to be a complete farce. I have no book suggestions. But to ease the homesickness, find the nearest newsstand that stocks German newspapers and show up with a copy every Sunday morning for a month. And don't forget the strudel. Good luck to you both!
• The man whose name is tattooed on my ass has just accepted a job in D.C. Uh-oh. How does your fiancé feel about this? Is he cool with it??
• If it's the beer he's going to miss, take him to the Brickskellar - best beer selection in DC, including a VERY extensive list of imports.
• Congrats SideDish! I don't have a tattoo, ass or otherwise, but here are some links: GermanDeli.com sells tons of German products. You could get him a housewarming basket of his favorite German cleaning products, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, etc. Or a basket of his favorite junkfood. Coming Home Crazy: An Alphabet of China Essays by Bill Holm talks a lot about the culture shock of living and teaching in 1980's China. And of course Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. The Brickskeller seems to have a huge list of German, Belgian and microbrewed American beers. But then you probably knew that already. More DC recommendations from the Beer Advocate. Um, on preview, what jaypro22 said.
• wow! you guys are too cool. great suggestions. kisses to everyone -- and i sent a tattoo jpeg to iggy. let's get that thread going! ook ook!
• Ooh, shinything, forgot the Sedaris! I hear he's coming out with a new one, btw
• (oooo, that brickskeller looks incredible!!! and right near my place. i must get out more!)
• Oh, you crazy Americans with your bottled beers.
• Eep! No visit to the brickskeller and you live in DC, what are ya, a wine drinker? (well, I am, but I'm just checkin'). The first beer to order at the Brickskeller: Schenider Weisse. The second, Schneider Weisse. (Recommended to me by the friend in Germany).
• MonkeyFilter: More than just beer and ass tatts. (or maybe not).
• It ain't German, but four words: Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout.
• Ass Tatt Guy loves the HefeWeisses. they come in these HUGE glasses. and of course the germans start drinking them at breakfast time.
• SideDish: I just realized that I have my Hotmail address listed in the profile and that's not going to get us anywhere. Send it again to kellie (at) albuqueerque (dot) com. Sorry!
• coming your way, iggy!
• Welcome back SideDish! Three cheers for you and for love!
• thanks, quid! we must have a virtual party when he arrives. hurray!
• I can't wait for you to tell him you wanna take him to a virtual party with a load of monkeys and an ignorant slut that you sent a photo of your ass to ;)
• eurocircle.com
• Hmm, I wonder if the Brickskeller has an Internet connection: virtual pub night!