German Lesson: die Wickelkommode

My niece is about to have her first child and so my sister informed me that she could use a money present to buy the baby’s furniture. Among the needed items listed is a Wickelkommode (baby dressing table or diaper changing table). This triggered some memories for an item I never had, a Wickelkommode.

I have raised two children and didn’t need one. I guess the reason being was that our first child was born in Japan and we occupied a tiny teachers housing flat, with tatami mat rooms. First of all, these apartments are not equipped to room a baby changing table. Also, the traditional Japanese mom changes her baby’s diaper on the tatami floor, which I did too.

And one thing I never had to worry about was the baby rolling off the dresser.

A few years later, when we came to Germany and we had our second child, I continued changing the baby’s diaper on the floor, just the way I had learned it in Japan and I had gotten very used to it as well.

A Wickelkommode, in my viewpoint, is a very commercial item. It is much more comfortable being on the floor with the baby, there is plenty of room to put items aside, it is more relaxing, and does not cost a cent.

 

How to Greet in Northern Germany

This lesson on the northern German dialect was posted by a street food vendor at Maasholm Yachthafen (Maasholm Port).

Norddeutsch

Norddeutsch

 Very easy lesson to learn. Thanks to sanitario.

Quote of the Day

“To be good is noble, but to teach others how to be good is nobler – and less trouble.”

– Doctor Van Dyke speech, 1906

This quote goes so well with an Upworthy video I had just watched. See for yourself how this 3rd grade teacher demonstrates what it is like to be discriminated in metaphors.

Watch A Teacher Make Her 3rd-Grade Kids Hate Each Other For The Best Reason Imaginable

A Basque Classroom in La Bastide Clairance

The village of La Bastide Clairance is one of the prettiest in France, I have been told. It is near Biarritz, in the northern Basque country. For a map, visit Pays en France.

And yes, it is a quaint place to visit.  There is enough to see on a leisurely afternoon. We were there on Sunday afternoon and all shops were open.

At the information center, we visited a replicated Basque classroom in the back of the building. As an educator, I am always interested in classrooms, old and new.

Basque classroom

I liked this short lesson on moral: One does not do a good job, if not done with joy, diligence, and love.

proverb in French

German lesson: Altweibersommer

Occasionally, when I have a good photo on hand to explain a German term, I will post a mini German lesson.

Today’s word is:

Altweibersommer (lit: old women’s summer), or Indian summer.

Origin of the term: The term weiben (used as a verb), in German mythology, stood for tying spiderwebs in old German.

Indian summer in Germany

For the past few days, we have had blue skies, sunny afternoons, cool mornings and evenings, dewy grass, and sparkling spiderwebs.

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