On the way back to Idstein I got a call from my cousin. No mountain biking this time, but instead he called to invite me to play some poker with his German cousins. I contemplated for a second: I don't play poker ever, and as far as I knew, I suck at it. So I said yes, because it'd be fun to hang out with younger people and have some beer and lose some money (just 5 euro buy in anyway).
So I got back to my aunt and uncle's and shortly after my cousin picked me up and we headed over to do some pokershpielen. When we got there I found out it was his cousin Francesca's birthday, and she is the one who usually wins at poker. Ok good, I thought, now I wouldn't have to be worried if I got my ass kicked if the girl always wins. So my cousin asked what she had done whole day and then I couldn't help but laugh out loud when she responded, in German, "wir haben getrinkt und wir haben gechillt" it says pretty much what it looks like: we drank and we chilled. After asking her to repeat herself, I asked where she got it and she said it was Dinglish and there many other words they use that they borrow from us. Throughout the rest the night I couldn't but say sporadically, 'Ich bin chillen'...also, after learning this, I realized I could just say any english word if I put the prefix ge- on it. (they also say cool, gegoogled and gecrushed ice.)
I met the other people there and few were drinking a can of "Mixery!" So apparently it's popular to mix beer and cola, which they call in the Frankfurt area a Schmutzigbier, or 'dirty beer.' They do it every way possibly too, beer and sprite, or lemonade, fanta, gingerale...and they have it at most restaurants. Sadly (I think), I haven't tried it yet.
So poker turned out to be the exact same thing in terms of finding the german words... Ich checke, I check. hast du gecheckt? have you checked? Ich bin all in. So it was pretty easy for me to get the hang of it...then before I know it, I've more than doubled my money and two other people had bought in again. Hell yea! I thought...I need another beer now. So I got two more beers, and continued on my hot streak, until I got screwed on a big hand I shouldn't have been in on.
'dammit I'm screwed now, just like as I predicted...I need to make something happen on this hand.." next hand, 2 of diamonds and 3 of hearts....eh, alright, maybe a straight....so I raised up the stakes, every stayed in. Fuck. Ace and 5 on the flop. 'ok chill,' I thought. I doubled what I put in before. everyone folded except Carsten (Francesca's boyfriend, who, by the way enjoys boarden and butteren down the slopes in the Alpen) we both checked on the next card...no 4 for me. then on the river, yup, you guessed it....no 4 again. So I hesitated for a long time counting and fiddling with my chips then I said, "Ich bin all in." Carsten thought about it for a long time then folded, and had only a high card Ace to my high card 3! So in the end I won 17 euros (12 actually with the 5 euro buy in), I learned some cool German words, that are actually just English words, and then we planned the next night to go out to, not a beerfestival this time, but the yearly Wine Festival in Wiesbaden.
Yes my headache was mighty the next day, for not only did we have more whiskey after poker, but my calculations on only having 5 or 6 beers were incorrect because in Germany they are all .5 L (vs .355 per 12 oz.). So eventually I ate and drank something and my headache was sequestered, and after a nice family dinner (of all my mom's 10 aunts and uncles who live in Germany), we took the bus to Wiesbaden. When we got a off, a guy getting on smelled like had too much wine and had just woken up in a puddle of his own piss...So I was happy to get off. And this wine fest turned out to be just as promising as the beerfest, although a little more expensive. This time we taught all the German's good English words to know, and that if you just say "fuckin'" every other word people will think that you speak fluent English.
So we walked back to a popular gyro place, and I vaguely remember meeting some Americans there, since Wiesbaden is where a US Army Garrison is stationed. Yea I bet they get a lot done in Germany, especially after meeting them at a wine festival.... Well the Gyros were fuckin' bomb.
Yes Dinglish learning has been quite fun, but occasionally things can get lost in translation. This Berlin store (below) doesn't seem like a spot to shop at for a tourist, unless you know that hell means brightness in german...bad mix of dinglish, but that gives new meaning to the song title highway to hell. So the Engrish has been entertaining, and now tomorrow we're off to Madrid. Maybe there will be one more post on Germany before the Spain adventure starts.
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