What's the word for...?

Huh, I haven't been blogging for a while. :-(

My first semester at university is over, all the exams are written and I can finally lean back and relax...or not? Unfortunately, the information saved in our brains tends to be forgotten faster than we would like to imagine if we don't revise regularly, so I decided to revise all the vocabulary I studied in the course of the semester. A friend of mine and I are also going to try and enforce a "no German" policy when we are meeting friends that are all English students.

When we were trying to hold a conversation only in English, and by conversation I mean one covering more more substantial subjects than the weather, we soon realized that we are lacking English words for everyday items that surround us. Something had to be done about this circumstance!

Our solution: We labelled many of the items in my apartment with Post-Its on which we wrote the correct English expression (both the American and British version, where there is an option). On the picture you can see some of the kitchen utensils we labelled. 

Then we walked through the apartment, reading all the words out loud in order to remember them, and when we were convinced that we know most of them, we played the game "I spy with my little eye [something that is green/made of plastic/soft...]".

It was a fun way to learn new vocabulary and I think I'm going to label all the items in my apartment again in the near future, but this time in Italian, my second language. If you have any other ideas how to learn new words in a playful way, let me know :-)

My new favourite outdoor game

If you ever happen to see me at the Stadtpark, throwing a wooden pin, trying to hit targets (and possibly swearing), don't worry - I'm not reviving ancient hunting techniques, but simply playing Mölkky.

'Mölkky, what a strange name is that?' you might wonder. It is a game of Finnish origin and unfortunately almost only known there - but now I'm here to change that. :-)

The game consist of a wooden pin ("mölkky") used for throwing and 12 other pins with the numbers 1-12 on them (you can see them on the picture).

The pins are initially placed in a group (in a special order, but don't ask why) 3–4 metres away from the throwing place. 

The rules are simple. In turns, each player throws the mölkky and tries to knock over some of the wooden pins. If one pin falls, the player receives the amount of points marked on the pin. If more than one pin falls, the player will receive the number of pins knocked over as points (e.g. if you knock over the pins with the numbers one, two and five you will get three points, not eight.)

After each throw the pins are put up again in the exact place where they landed, not in the initial position. At first, that won't make much difference, but after a while single pins can be as far away as ten metres!

The first one to reach 50 points wins the game. Scoring more than 50 points, however (e.g. you already have 48 points and then knock over the pin with the "3" on it), will result in a "penalty". That means your score drops to 25 points.

Got it?

Let the game(s) begin! :-)