This blog post is now diamonds!

I thought I loved Old Spice commercials already, but after watching this today...




...but now I love them more than ever. 


And since my homework for my German class tonight was to write about what I'd do with a million dollars, I couldn't help putting "der Old Spice Mann" in it. (If you want to put it through Google translate, click here. If anyone from my class is reading this, you better not steal it.)

Meine Reise nach Europa mit dem Old Spice Mann

Wenn ich eine Million Dollar, würde ich nach Europa fliegen. Erste würde ich zu Paris gehen. Ich würde den Louvre und den Eiffelturm sehen. Dann würde ich zu London fliegen. Ich würde die Houses of Parliament, Tate Modern und Nick Jonas auf „Les Miserables“ sehen. Dann würde ich der Old Spice Mann in Rom treffen. Nachdem sie das Kolosseum und das Essen lecker italienisches Essen, würden wir einkaufen und in die Oper gehen. Wir würden durch Venedig, Milan, die Schweiz und Wien fahren. unsere Reise würde in Berlin mit die Berliner Mauer, Kaiser-Friedrich-Straße, das Pergamonmuseum, und ein Justin Bieber Konzert enden. Dann der Old Spice mann würde seine Liebe für mich zu verkünden mit einer Arie auf einem Dach, und wir würden fliegen nach Las Vegas heiraten. Wir würden natürlich glücklich miteinander bis ans Ende ihrer Tage leben.  Alles kann passieren, wenn man wie ein Mann und keine Frau riecht. Ich bin auf einem Pferd.


PS - If you go here you can customize a voicemail message in the Old Spice style! If I was a guy I'd totally do it. 

Wie groß bist du!

Photo found here.

One of the things I love most about BYU is the opportunity to join with my classmates in singing the hymns of Zion. In the Mormon culture we are taught to sing at a very young age, and no matter what hymn the teacher chooses that day, there are always a few people who add gorgeous harmonies. It feels like a symphony - each student coming together, uniting hearts and voices to praise the God who has guided our steps to this splendid university. 

I thought singing the hymns in a religion class of 200 was incredible, but yesterday I discovered that a tiny German class of 6 can be even more powerful.  

The hymn for the day was „Wie groß bist du!” known in English as "How Great Thou Art." This has always been one of my favorite hymns, and I have fond memories of my mother singing it as she washed the dishes and cooked dinner. When I visit home, we sing it together as I help her with the household chores. 

As my class sang the song, I was surprised to see that the Germans have added another verse between our second and third verses. (I was even more surprised that I understood it!) Here are the lyrics and my translation:

Wenn ich bedenk, was du für mich gegeben
die Schmerzen all, die du gelitten hast
Du starbst on Kreuz damit wir können leben
und nahmst auf dich all unserer Sünden Last.

Dann preis ich dich, mein Heiland und mein Gott.
Wie groß bist du! Wie groß bist du!
Dann preis ich dich, mein Heiland und mein Gott.
Wie groß bist du! Wie groß bist du!

***************************************************

When I think what you have given for me

All the pain you have suffered 

You died on the cross so we could have life

And you took the load of all our sins

Then sings my soul, my Savior and my God -

How great thou art! How great thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior and my God -

How great thou art! How great thou art! 

I was surprised once more as tears filled my eyes and my voice started to falter. 

Truly Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. I am amazed and humbled by all that He offers me. It is a honor and a privilege to attend Brigham Young University and have the chance to associate with such wonderful people whose examples bring me closer to Christ. I am awed by the power and potential of my fellow classmates, whether it be in a class of 200 or a class of 6. I can sense that Heavenly Father has important assignments for us after we leave this university, but our works will continue to harmonize with each other across time and space, creating rich music of praise to the Lord. Just like our singing, each of us has something unique to offer that makes a powerful collaboration. I believe that our individual lives of discipleship, like our voices, will come together to create a gift to the Lord that is even more beautiful and more lasting. And that, my friends, is true joy. 

When Christ shall come,

With shouts of acclamation,

And take me home,

What joy shall fill my heart!

Then I shall bow

In humble adoration

And there proclaim,

"My God, how great Thou art!" 

Truly, Lord, how great thou art. 

22 ways to Insult somone in German

1. Warmduscher - Someone who has to have a warm shower (freaks out if it's too hot or too cold)
2. Muttersöhnchern - Mama's boy
3. Weichei - Soft egg
4. Daumenlutscher - Thumb sucker
5. Toastkratzer - Toast scraper (too finicky to eat burnt toast!)
6. Hamsterbefreier - Hamster freer
7. Flugseuglandungklutscher - Someone who claps for landing airplanes
8. Spagettikleinschneider - Someone who is so OCD that they have to cut their spaghetti into small pieces
9. Teletubbieszurückwinker - Someone who waves back to the teletubbies
10. Letztes-klupapier-verbraucher - Last toilet paper user
11. Rolltreppensteher - Escalator stander (on European escalators, standers are on the right and walkers are on the left. This refers to someone standing on the left, therefore getting in everyone else's way,)
12. Pokemon-süßfinder - Great Pokemon catcher
13. Müllsortierer - Garbage sorter
14. Handschuhschneewerfer - Someone who is too much of a pansy to make a snowball with their bare hands
15. Sockenbügler - Sock ironer
16. Tofu-Esser - Tofu eater
17. Baby-popo-Trockenföner - Someone who blow-dries their baby's bum
18. Klofrauenbezahler - The lady you have to pay to use a "public" restroom in Germany
19. Dackel-bei-Gefahr-Hochnehmer - Someone who isn't secure without their Wiener dog
20. Mit-augstreckem-Arm-über-die-Zebrastreifen-geher - Someone who needlessly acts as a crossing guard when crossing the street
21. Pizza-mit-Messer-und-Gabel-Esser - Pizza with fork and knife eater
22. Gartenzwergaufsteller - Garden gnome putter-upper

I promise we learn real things in my class as well. Just not today.

You are all probably sick of German by now, but...

My group finished our German movie! With puppets! It's a lot of inside jokes from our class, but you might find it funny.

Schauen Sie!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/video/video.php?v=1038228567496&ref=mf

Dreaming in German

So I had this crazy Spanish teacher in 10th grade, Mr. Greenberg. One day I walk into class and he asks me, "Have you started dreaming in Spanish yet?" Obviously I answered negatively and he asked me to let him know when I started having dreams in Spanish.

I never thought I would have a dream in another language, but last night it happened.

All I remember is hearing a lady say, "Schleißen Sie!" Which means "close it!" and the fact that I understood. But the more important part is that the impossible happened last night.

Sorry Mr. Greenberg.

Für Diane

Diane meine Blog ist alt gejammert, so ich bin verbesse für sie. Ich nicht kann Deutsch gut, aber ich werde versuche.

Letze Woche ist sehr eine Stoßzeit. Ich habe zwei Prüfungen und veile Hausaufgabe gemacht. Diese Woche wird ist beschäftigt also geben. Letze Abend, es schneite. Traurig! Ich hoffe es werde stoppe! Meine Familie kommt zu Utah für General Conference. Ich nicht kann länger sehen sie.

Ich hoffe du bist zufrieden Diane! ;)

My newest love

I am taking German 101, and I love it.

It's so fun to learn a new language. And we have so much fun in our class. It's a small group and we meet every day, so we are getting really close. I really hope I can use the language to serve someone in the future. I don't know how that would happen, but I hope it will.

I bought a German hymnal the other day, and I've had so much fun learning my favorite hymns in this beautiful language. It really makes me want to go on a mission to Germany or Austria or somewhere German speaking.

And I'm still loving music too. I'm so glad University Chorale has started back up again, because singing is such a blessing to me. It takes me away from my worries into the middle of something beautiful. It's marvelous focus on creating something beautiful, and to have the success of learning something new. It's also a powerful way to testify of Christ.

Thank goodness for general ed classes which have introduced me to the many wonderful things Heavenly Father created for me!