Easter breakfast at church :: White Easter :: Bianca :: Bettina :: Amy grammar

[pne]

This morning, we went to church.

Usually, the Primary organises an Easter walk on Easter Monday morning, but since Easter was so early this year, they decided to have a breakfast inside instead, followed by games.

This turned out to be a good idea, because it started snowing around noon, fairly heavily.

So we all had breakfast at around 10:15, with all sorts of goodies, including warm bread rolls and scrambled eggs.

When everyone had eaten, the tables were cleared. The children were then all called back in and got a little bag of candy each.

Then the games portion started. Everyone had been asked to bring some games with them, and we ended up with quite a stack of them at the side of the cultural hall. (This may be a German thing; at any rate, there seems to be an entire genre called "German-style board games.")

At first, only a few people played, but eventually, quite a few groups formed.

I joined a game of Zug um Zug (one of the few games by a non-German author to win the coveted award Spiel des Jahres; the original name is Ticket to Ride), together with Andreas, Brigitte, Bianca, and Luca and Lukas (the last two played together initially, though Luca wandered off after a while and it was only Lukas then).

That was pretty fun, though it went on for longer than expected, and Amy ended up wanting to go home when we were about half-way through. Fortunately (for me), Stella managed to keep her occupied until I was finished, which ended up being about an hour later rather than the twenty minutes or so Andreas had guessed.

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I saw Bianca nursing her son twice, which I found nifty, since I'm rather in favour of breastfeeding, and a few others in her family had nursed their children for a fairly short time (a month or so). Yannick is already eight weeks old, and when I asked her how long she planned to nurse him she said, "oh, six months or so perhaps?".

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Speaking of which, I had also had a conversation with Bettina about (among other things) female periods and methods of contraception.

At one point near the beginning, she paused briefly, then said, "Oh, you're one of the few men who isn't grossed out by this subject. So I can tell you this: (etc.)".

I'm not sure why that is (both why I'm not bothered by such topics, and why many other men are). I also enjoy listening to women sharing their childbirth experiences, for example.

My current hypothesis is that it's because I'm fairly emotionless (possibly a bit along the autistic spectrum), so I don't have a gut reaction to such topics (which might be "ewww gross") but approach them rationally/with my mind, so it's just a more "talking about facts" thing.

On the other hand, I also find it refreshing that she's fairly open about such bodily functions; she says she puts it down to being a veterinarian. (She says she still hasn't found someone she can discuss castration with, though. Though I don't think I would mind if the subject were to come up in conversation.)

I also learned something new: that there's a method of contraception which can prevent periods completely, including the accompanying cramps (a kind of hormone-releasing coil). I wonder why that method is not more common, given that so many women appear to suffer from dysmenorrhoea or simply find the monthly (or even quarterly, if they take certain kinds of contraceptive pills) period annoying; her guess was that some find the regular period reassuring (a sign that they're not pregnant), or because of the position in which it's inserted (past the cervix), which is easier for women who've already borne a child.

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Usually, when Amy uses a construction from the wrong language, it's German intruding into her English, but I just heard what sounds like an opposite case: she handed me a box and asked me, "Kannst du das offen?".

I'm assuming that this was a slip caused by the fact that both the adjective "open" and the verb "open" are homophonous in English; what she said was "Can you open this" but with the adjective-open rather than the verb-open. The fact that it had the -en ending characteristic of infinitives may have helped.

Comments

[fridoline.livejournal.com]

>>I wonder why that method is not more common<<

Two reasons I know of are that

a)it is rather expensive (300 EUR or more) - it can stay for up to five years, but it still is quite a bit of money on one go - and

b)not all women have a positive experience with Mirena - possible side effects are many and varied.

So, if you put both together it is not hard to understand why many women don't want to invest several hundred Euros - only to find out, perhaps, that it does not agree with them.

[lexabear.livejournal.com]

Also, at least in the US, many practicioners are wary of giving Mirena to nulliparous women. My gynocologist refused to give it to me because of the risk of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), and PID's risk of sterility. See the childfree comm for more info; this topic comes up fairly often.

Mirena

[wodentoad.livejournal.com]

My insurance company covered it, and they recommend it only for women who have already had a child and are at low risk for PID. It doesn't eliminate periods entirely, though it can, and the negative reactions and complications are, according to my midwife, rare if the medical history is correct. I have it and I think it's wonderful, not to mention that I was told that it is as effective as a vasectomy when used correctly (which means making sure it hasn't slipped out or anything).

Re: Mirena

[pne.livejournal.com]

It doesn't eliminate periods entirely, though it can

*nods* I subsequently read on Wikipedia that only about 20% of women on IUS experience no periods at all, so I suppose she's simply one of the lucky ones.

It's possible that the fact that she has two children and no plans for any further ones influenced the doctors' decision to give her one.

Re: Mirena

[wodentoad.livejournal.com]

I plan on having more, and if it is removed, 80% of women who are trying to conceive do so within the first year, which is about the same as if nothing had been done at all. The pill can take up to a year or more to clear your system, and I know a few "pill" babies.

Best of luck to her!

[hidden-kitten.livejournal.com]

I am not allowed to use contraceptives that cut down on or stop my menstruation because I am not heavy enough and it would make my bones brittle and cause general bad health. I was told this at a women's clinic when I asked for contarceptives that I wouldn't forget or induce vomiting.

[pne.livejournal.com]

Interesting; didn't know about those possible consequences.

[hidden-kitten.livejournal.com]

They're possible if you're too light. I was previously on the lowest possible dose of hormones available in a birth control pill and I ended up throwing them up every day.
Instead, I have an IUD. Hasn't failed me yet and it's been in for 2.5 years.