It Might Be Easier Just To Learn German

I'll be going in a couple of weeks to Buxtehude, Germany to receive the Buxtehuder Bulle Award for my novel Die Welt, wie wir sie kannten, which I usually think of as Life As We Knew It. On a scale of 1-10 in personal excitement, this is roughly a 12. I'm already devoting vast amounts of time and energy on shopping for the trip and trying to figure out what to take and will the airline feed me (the answer to the latter is yes, so now I'm trying to decide if I want one of their regular meals or a kosher one or a vegan one).

But I'm not alone in my excitement. Google is thrilled for me also. It lets me know about German articles that mention my upcoming trip (although they don't mention that the airline is going to feed me). Since the German articles are invariably in German, I take them over to Google Translations and let them tell me what's up.

The only problem is sometimes the translation could use a translation. Here's the translation of the first article I saw, last night:

An awards ceremony with pizzazz

Buxtehude Bulle: On 11 Susan Beth Pfeffer November is celebrated on the stage Halepaghen
Hannelore Aldag Buxtehude.

On Tuesday, 8 November, flies Susan Beth Pfeffer in Hamburg. Will spend a short week, the American in Buxton, where she was winner of the 40th Bulls will be celebrated. For the ceremony, on Friday, 11 November, starts at 19:30 on the clock Halepaghen stage, has put together the cultural office one intriguing program with interesting protagonists.

Susan Beth Pfeffer learned this summer that she has for her thrilling science fiction novel "The world as we know it" the won with 5000 € prize Buxtehuder children's book prize, she got joy ecstatic: "This is fantastic I am. very happy to Germany. "

With readings in high school in the South and the 63-year-old writer Halepaghenschule the conversation with the young people will seek. A dialogue with the adult Susan Beth Pfeffer leads on Wednesday 9 November, at a public lecture, which begins at 19 Clock in the town library. There, visitors dive into "The world as we knew it," Miranda learn and know their family and their desperate struggle for survival. An asteroid strikes at the moon. The Earth's satellite is catapulted out of its orbit. Extreme weather changes, floods and earthquakes are ravaging humanity, whose blue planet has fallen overnight from the joints.

When it comes to the infinite reaches of space, he knows his stuff.

With Professor Dr. Erich Übelacker the Cultural Office of the awards has won one award presenter, who has made himself a name with his profound knowledge. One of the many milestones in his professional vita led the scientists to Hamburg, where he headed from 1975 to 2000, the planetarium and in that time for the tripling of the number of visitors saw - a result of its innovative management and planetarium concerts, lectures, navigation courses, children's shows, exhibitions and even weddings under the stars. Erich Übelacker hosted TV shows about astronomy and space, the combination resulted in an NDR report and starry sky, wrote for magazines and newspapers and has written for children and youth-oriented textbooks on the subject of stars and space.

They "verrappen" classic press and masters such as Goethe, Schiller, Heine and Fontane their own personal stamp on - with great success. And it happened: On a Sunday morning, the Casper family sat at the breakfast table and Nicola was the poem "It's him" recite by Edward Möricke. Then the girl had absolutely no desire to. Nicola found it much more fun to give to verse in a kind of chant for the best. Quickly she had supporters behind him and shortly afterwards "The young poets and thinkers" were born, four young people from the area of ​​beech wood, bring to the awards ceremony an unusual program to Halepaghen stage. The audience experiences the "Erl King", the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "Mr. von Ribbeck on Ribbeck" with a difference.

Staying in Buxton Susan Beth Pfeffer also leads to the neighboring city of Hamburg. There she reads on Thursday evening, 10 November, as part of the series "Young American literature in the Harbour City" from her new novel "The Lost New York", a sequel to "The world as we know it", which is also in the Carlsen Verlag. Before the New Yorker on Sunday 13 November, will fly back to the States, her on Saturday, 12 November, once again honor. Then, on a bronze plate Buxtehuder BULLEvard sunk with their name on the pavement.

Admission to the reading and during the awards ceremony is free. Who wants to secure a seat for both events should be on time cards in the Cultural Office at City Hall, get into the city library in the street and in the fishing town in the Viverstraße information.

24/10/2011

Fortunately for me, there were additional articles this morning. Thanks to this one*, and to Google Translations, I think I have a better idea of what's going on (except this one leaves out the bronze plate, which on a scale from 1-10 is a minimum 14):

Buxtehude. Susan Beth Pfeffer, this year's winner of the Youth Book Prize "Buxtehude Bulle" is on Friday 11 November, the award in the form of bull sculpture personally accept. The American woman has succeeded with its World Under goose scenario "The world as we knew it," which was published in 2010 in the Carlsen-Verlag, to appeal to the primal fears of the people and to remind them of their helplessness before the forces of nature.


Presenter is the longtime head of the Hamburg Planetarium

As a presenter for the awards ceremony, which begins at 19:30 on the clock Halepaghenbühne, Konopkastraße 5, won the Cultural Office of the Buxtehude astronomer and longtime director of the Hamburg planetarium, Erich Übelacker. For the accompanying program provides the group "Young poets and thinkers" from Hamburg.

The group consists of children and young people who enjoy it, and classic poems by Goethe, Schiller, Heine and Fontane not only to recite, but to bring it as a rap on the stage. Well known are the "young poets and thinkers" among others from the film "Rabbit Without Ears".

In addition to the evening event is Susan Beth Pfeffer, which on Tuesday 8 November, arriving in Buxton, is read in high school on Wednesday and Thursday at the South Halepaghen school from their work. Live she is in a public lecture on Wednesday, 9 November, experience of 19 clock at the town library in the fishing road 2. She is also on Thursday 10 November, from 19 to clock in Hamburg America Center, the Sandtorkai 48, a guest. There it is in a public lecture about her sequel "The Lost New York".

Admission to the ceremony and is free to the readings. Tickets are available at the Cultural Office of Buxtehude, phone 04161/501 23 23 04161/501 23 23, in the town library, telephone 04161/99 04161/99 90 60 90 60, and in the city Buxtehuder information, phone 04161/501 23 48 04161 / 501 23 48, available.

The decision to nominate, pepper novel with the bulls Buxtehude, is already on 28 June this year appealing: the jury awarded 83 points for her novel, 36 of which came from the young people and 47 from adults. "The world as we know it" is the first book published in German by the author who in the U.S. has already published more than 60 books for children and young adults.


Winfried Ziemann has set the price in 1971 to life

The prize of 5000 € Buxtehude Bulle is one of the most prestigious German literary awards. He was initiated in 1971 by the late bookseller Buxtehuder Winfried Ziemann. Every year since then, the best narrative, published in German youth book awards. This year the award is the 40th Given time. The aim of the prize bull is to move young people to read, while promoting good children's books. The town of Buxton has agreed to take ownership 1981st (tau)

So this is what I know is going to happen. In thirteen days,I pack my camera and prepare to say "danke schoen" and "guten tag" every chance I get. I eat (badly) on the airplane, and then I arrive in Hamburg and am taken to Buxtehude, where the mayor will greet me (approximately a 16 on the 1-10 scale). Then I go to sleep so I can be ready for school visits and library visits and award winnings over the next three days. On Saturday I'll be taken to see the sights and on Sunday I fly home, to be greeted by Scooter who already seems somewhat concerned about my leaving him.




And in the thirteen days before I go, in addtion to more shopping and packing, I have to obsessively check ten day weather forecasts for Buxtehude, and clean my apartment, including the downstairs hallway, which has cobwebs you would think are Halloween decorations but alas are real and genuinely yucky, and finish reading Dorothy Hamill's memoirs (she just won the Olympics and there's still half a book to go) and buy some euros and maybe write a Shade Of The Moon short story to see if I can do it.

Cobwebs notwithstanding, on a scale of 1-10, I'm a 20 in joy ecstatic!

*The link no longer works for me, so you may have to take it on faith.